What a fascinating article in today’s New York Times Business section.  It was titled The Fountain of Old Age, so I had to read it in its entirety.  Yes, I read every last word and then I went online to watch the video too.  I was impressed by the journalist Natasha Singer, who tried out an age empathy suit called Agnes that was developed in the MIT AgeLab.   It simulates the limitations of an older adult in his or her 70s.

According to the article, “in the United States, by the year 2035, one in five people are expected to be age 65 or older. In addition, the number of people 65 and older is expected to more than double worldwide, to about 1.5 billion by 2050 from 523 million last year, according to estimates from the United Nations.”

Let’s see.  How old will I be in 2035?  I quickly took out my calculator to do the math.  I’m 53 now.  That’s  23 years from now.  I’ll be 77. I’ll be just like the empathy suit.  I’ll be Agnes in real life.

I think I have to jump on the bandwagon now and start shaping up so I can get around better when I’m older.  I did go to yoga class this morning and I am going to continue to focus on my balance.  Om, om, namaste. I also did my 30 minutes of exercise on my stationery bicycle.  Go Judi go!

I do want to make my extra decades healthy and productive.  There are so many things on my “to do” list and it is not just filled with reading books.  Therefore, although gray is not one of my preferred colors, and although I do not look good in gray and have very few gray outfits, since I am graying with the masses, I shall join MIT’s Professor Coughlin’s mantra of “making gray the new green.”

I also agree with AgeWave’s Ken Dychtwald, who the article says “is trying to rebrand aging as a positive phenomenon.”  Ken has created a word that describes this phenomenon.  It’s called ‘middlescence’ which “conveys later life as a transformative stage, like adolescence, in which people have free time and an increased interest in trying new experiences.”

Go Ken. Go Ken. Go Ken.

“I want to go skydiving,” said my son D, as he told me about his plans for his 21st birthday this year.

“Really,” I replied, “Why would you want to do that sport?  It sounds so scary to me.”

“You should go with me,” said my son D.  “Yes, you should.”

“I think I’ll pass on that experience,” I answered, “skydiving is not on my to-do list for the second half of my life.  However, should things change when I reach 77, I will definitely let you know.”

Judi