With Aging, One Size Doesn’t Fit All
Having had the opportunity to work with senior adults over the past 13 years, I count myself truly lucky. It’s given me such incredible perspective about life and aging that serves me well not only professionally, but also in my own life with my aging parents and with my friends who count on me for advice regarding their aging parents.
My most insightful moments come when I toss out the aging myth that every older person is the same. We’ve all heard people say, “That’s just what happens when you get old,” or “Well, they are 90. What do you expect?”
I’m here to tell you the complete opposite! Every person, regardless of age, is unique — with individual ideas, experiences, desires, needs, wants and abilities. What is important to one person may not be so important to another.
The same goes for aging well. What one person wants or requires in order to live a fulfilled life may not be what the next person requires.
Respecting Personal Choice
What I know today is there is no “one-size-fits-all” cookie cutter recipe for aging. It’s easy from a distance to impose our views and ideals on how a person should be aging, what kind of help they should be receiving, and even where they should be living.
But the truth is we each age differently and there are so many possibilities and scenarios that can be put into place for someone who might be aging differently than you. Their solution doesn’t have to make perfect sense to you. It only matters that it makes sense to the individual and their family.
Navigating Choices
Lenbrook believes in helping each resident find their optimal definition of “aging well” and helping each resident develop their own personal road map for a fulfilling and engaged life. For some it will be ballroom dancing and a current events study group every week, for others it might be bridge tournaments and billiards, and yet for another it might be volunteer activities and multiple faith services in Lenbrook’s meditation room. We are here to support our residents in living the life they choose to live.
Lenbrook offers a place where you can retire actively or quietly, but always gracefully and with dignity. And with the peace of mind of knowing that when something changes, there are professionals on staff ready to help you explore options, understand choices available and provide you with the resources to make educated decisions — so that you can find the perfect fit of aging well just for you. It’s my honor to be a part of the personal journeys of the residents of Lenbrook.
Cristina Ramey, MSW, PSC, is Director of Lenbrook’s LIVE! enrichment program where she helps residents navigate changes in health, interests, wants and needs. She is a University of Georgia graduate with a master’s in social work and holds an undergraduate degree in human and social services from Kennesaw State University.