It's always something!

Do you remember comedienne Radna Gildner who played Roseanne Roseanna Danna on Saturday Night Live? She was part of the show’s weekly newscast and always ended her report with, “It’s always something. If it’s not one thing, it’s another.”

Those words ring true for me. No matter what stage or age of our life we’re in—it’s always something. And a lot of times we’re not prepared for the something that comes around the corner.

Retired gerontologist, Jane M. Thibault, counseled many people ages 65 and older about the promise later life can hold for them if they prepare for those somethings. She wrote these seven suggestions:

1) FLOSS your teeth daily; this is the best thing you can do to prevent heart disease and the need for dentures. 

 

 2) FEED your body with milk and other calcium-rich foods, highly colorful vegetables and fruits, and lots and lots of water. Feed your mind with ideas, your life with people, and your soul with God and that which is beyond you. 

 

3) FLAIL your body around for thirty minutes each day. … Stretch luxuriously before you get out of bed. Do joint-limbering, range-of-motion exercises. Lift weights. Stand straight—balance a book on your head. Learn to stand on one foot without holding on to a nearby object. Challenge your heart with walking, swimming, or bicycle-riding.

 

4) FAST from negative thinking about yourself and others. Adopt an “attitude of gratitude” for the gifts of yourself and other people.

5) FIND your unique purpose for the second half of your life. What do you want to leave to this world that would not have been offered if you had not been given the gift of a long life? 

6) FUN. Make fun of yourself and your frailties. … Search for the hilarious in the oddities and even the tragedies of life. … Start a ministry of smiling. … Celebrate the little joys of everyday life: a good night’s sleep, the smell of the air after rain, a new friend.

7) FOCUS on all the little ways you can put more love into the world—then do them. The world will be happier because of YOU!  

 

Although each of Thibault’s suggestions begin with an F, if you follow them, you’re likely to have an A-plus life. And when you find yourself saying, “It’s always something,” I bet it will be a good thing.