Mary's Art Starts in the Garden
I’m Aging Gracefully by Finding Creative Ways to Continue Doing the Things I Enjoy
November 2024
November 2024
“When are you going to stop?”
That’s a question I’ve heard more than once from people since I turned 70 some years ago. Why would I stop? Like everyone, my life has been a series of zigs and zags, some good, some less so. Life changes and we all adjust one way or another. Changing can be challenging but being flexible to new ideas and ways of doing things can provide a person with unexpected benefits, joys and experiences.
Looking back on my journey, I realize that the flexibility I developed in navigating life’s obstacles has been a training ground for my future. We all have an outline of our story, and I’d like to share mine.
I got married, had kids, got divorced, went to college, and built a career. I’ve worked for others and then worked for myself. My kids grew up. I remarried, went back to college, changed careers, and changed directions. All that zigzagging presented opportunities for personal growth.
That’s a question I’ve heard more than once from people since I turned 70 some years ago. Why would I stop? Like everyone, my life has been a series of zigs and zags, some good, some less so. Life changes and we all adjust one way or another. Changing can be challenging but being flexible to new ideas and ways of doing things can provide a person with unexpected benefits, joys and experiences.
Looking back on my journey, I realize that the flexibility I developed in navigating life’s obstacles has been a training ground for my future. We all have an outline of our story, and I’d like to share mine.
I got married, had kids, got divorced, went to college, and built a career. I’ve worked for others and then worked for myself. My kids grew up. I remarried, went back to college, changed careers, and changed directions. All that zigzagging presented opportunities for personal growth.
So here I am still active, creating my art, gardening, bike riding, traveling, taking classes in various subjects, and embracing the fullness of life. I’m also still actively working on websites, mine and others, publishing content on all my social media channels, writing marketing material for my work and other organizations, showing my artwork in multiple galleries, and giving artist talks to various audiences.
I am continually rethinking my direction in life. But aging happens along with aches and pains, plus other assorted gifts. How does one zigzag around that? How do I keep doing what I love and remain active and engaged despite the challenges?
When my hips began complaining to me that I was sitting too long and that my hours at the computer working on websites, writing, and creating my digital art were affecting the quality of my life, I changed my direction. I gave up my years of digital painting and returned to my first medium — oil painting. When I paint in oils, I stand. Standing helped to ease my hip and lower back pain. It also gave me the unexpected benefit of exploring new styles and directions for my art.
I am continually rethinking my direction in life. But aging happens along with aches and pains, plus other assorted gifts. How does one zigzag around that? How do I keep doing what I love and remain active and engaged despite the challenges?
When my hips began complaining to me that I was sitting too long and that my hours at the computer working on websites, writing, and creating my digital art were affecting the quality of my life, I changed my direction. I gave up my years of digital painting and returned to my first medium — oil painting. When I paint in oils, I stand. Standing helped to ease my hip and lower back pain. It also gave me the unexpected benefit of exploring new styles and directions for my art.
Mary Working in Her Studio
Photo Courtesy: Mary Ahern
Photo Courtesy: Mary Ahern
I began thinking about my art differently, which made the work I was creating look different. The long quiet hours of painting awakened a dormant passion and deep contemplation, something that didn’t happen when working with the overstimulation of computers. My hip pain offered me the opportunity to free myself and to grow from the experience.
As a lifelong bike rider, the fun decreased with the increasing wrist and neck pain I had on each ride. I found myself making excuses not to join my hubby on the invigorating rides we had always enjoyed together. We were both feeling a sense of loss without trying to burden each other.
But then, a solution presented itself in the form of an e-bike another major and very welcome change. Buying my e-bike had me fall in love all over again with riding. I’d missed the breeze on my cheeks, the birds chirping as I rode by, the glimpses of wildflowers along the bike paths, and the fun of sharing the rides with hubby. Once I could ride again, we began taking bike cruise vacations since I could ride the daily 35-mile trips again. We became adventurers together. As I look back in time as a senior citizen, I realize that I have been zigging and zagging my entire life around the bumps that life presents. Using those lifelong skills, I’m not stopping what I do but making detours to enable me to keep doing what I enjoy and need to do in order to live the full life I continue to seek. When my eyes became too blurry, I had cataract surgery. When I found myself saying “What?” all day long, I found relief, as did my friends and family with my new hearing aids — which has the bonus of listening to my music and audiobooks through them. I’ve stopped going up on ladders and have learned to ask my grown grandson to help me with rehanging the artwork in my studio. He works for bacon and eggs on bagels, and I get to enjoy his company — a win for both of us. In my garden, I’m planting fewer perennials and more flowering shrubs. I’m also planting more flowers in containers on my deck, which makes it easier for me to care for them. This downsizing allows me to continue to enjoy the garden without enduring the time-consuming and exhausting work of upkeep. |
Mary Has Enjoyed a Lifelong Passion for Biking
Photo Courtesy: Mary Ahern |
I invest in myself so I can have a full life. I work out at the gym twice a week with a trainer who specializes in functional training. This exercise plan keeps the muscles active and strong which I need for balance, lifting, bending, and other tasks I do in my everyday life. It’s helped me with my bike riding, gardening, and even more mundane tasks, like food shopping.
I also invest in my passion for lifelong learning. This year, I’ve been working with AI to learn how to use it efficiently. I’ve also been taking a course on “strategy” since having a strategy can be applied to so many actions. It has helped me to realize that my whole life of zigging and zagging, handling anything that has come my way, has truly been a strategy for living life fully.
The detours, downsizing, and accommodations I’m currently making aren’t negatives at all; they are my strategies for aging gracefully. In fact, they are helping me to grow and to continue to do all of those things I enjoy.
I also invest in my passion for lifelong learning. This year, I’ve been working with AI to learn how to use it efficiently. I’ve also been taking a course on “strategy” since having a strategy can be applied to so many actions. It has helped me to realize that my whole life of zigging and zagging, handling anything that has come my way, has truly been a strategy for living life fully.
The detours, downsizing, and accommodations I’m currently making aren’t negatives at all; they are my strategies for aging gracefully. In fact, they are helping me to grow and to continue to do all of those things I enjoy.
PREVIOUS INSTALLMENTS:
A Strategy to Embrace: Lifelong Learning
Awakenings in the Garden: An Artist's Journey
Women Helping Women: A Recipe for Success
A Virtual Visitor Had Me Contemplating My Lifelong Career in the Arts
My Dual Passions
A Strategy to Embrace: Lifelong Learning
Awakenings in the Garden: An Artist's Journey
Women Helping Women: A Recipe for Success
A Virtual Visitor Had Me Contemplating My Lifelong Career in the Arts
My Dual Passions