|
January Edition
By
Bill Korzenowski, Director of the Senior Center
Tuesday,
January 19, 2010
A couple of days ago my family and I visited my mother to celebrate her Hundredth Birthday. She has been declining in health a bit and had recently moved from an Assisted Living facility in Lexington to a nearby nursing home. When I was picking out cards for the occasion and buying candles, three inch high numerals, a one and two zeros, I was struck by the what a fantastic milestone this was. Mary Korzenowski, my mom, was about to celebrate her 100th birthday. When we arrived she was waiting for us, all dolled up in a red shirt and purple sweater. She was feeling much better and we had a great time celebrating. She was thrilled with our visit and her gifts but she was coveting my wife’s large purse. She said she wanted one like it so she could go shopping with her friends and fill it up. I am both happy and appreciative that my mom is still relatively healthy and except for some short-term present memory loss, cognitively focused and alert. She doesn’t look anywhere near her age, which I attribute to a lifetime of using “Oil of Olay”. She should be doing their commercials rather than some 30 year old pretending to be 60. Besides this beauty secret she has also always eaten a healthy diet and exercised by walking every day. As I move up close to being an official senior I realize more and more how important diet and exercise are to help keep us healthy and thus enjoy our lives as we age. I am glad I have followed at least some of the examples my mother set for me.
Working at a senior center with older adults, along with my mother’s example, I can see first hand how important it is to stay active and eat a healthy diet. Many of our seniors are in their 80’s and 90’s and are still active and enjoying life. Any changes you make to live a healthier lifestyle will help improve your quality of life. Many of the seniors who are involved in our exercise classes comment that they feel much better. Some who had difficulty walking from their car to a store now say they easily walk further distances and have far less difficulty climbing stairs. Currently we offer osteo-exercise, flex and tone aerobics and yoga classes and we have treadmills and exercise bikes for you to use. We offer regular educational classes on health and nutrition. You can walk at the in-door track at the high school if you join our walking club and have a CORI check done by the school department. We can all make a New Year’s resolution to start or continue to take care of our bodies with proper diet and exercise. Each of us will reap the benefits of this decision.
By the way, I did tuck those candles into my pocket as a souvenir and I hope I am lucky enough to use them on my own cake some day. I wish you all a Healthy, Happy New Year.
Bill
| 
