Family Update
Alex has the flu! I guess it’s making the rounds—his doctor said she’s already seen twenty kids this week alone. We’ve sequestered him in his room, hoping to contain the spread. Since his bathroom connects to his brother’s, we’re being extra cautious, delivering meals in the bathroom and stocking up on Lysol from Walmart. If this bug makes its way through the house, it will be a disaster.
Chris performed in the talent show last week, playing piano while a girl accompanied him on guitar for a Billy Joel song. It was, hands down, the best performance of the night (though I may be slightly biased).
My youngest, Jesse, is obsessed with Rubik’s cubes. All he does is watch competitions—yes, that’s a real thing! The world record for solving one is an insane three seconds. There are even international team competitions; the German team is a perennial powerhouse.
Last week, we stumbled across an old photo from about ten years ago. It was so ridiculously cute that I had to include it.
I recently watched a couple of fascinating episodes of 60 Minutes. One episode covered how many Boomers are now taking in roommates to help reduce their living expenses.
Many of my clients bristle at the idea. "Roommates in my 60’s and 70’s? Like on the Golden Girls? No way," they say.
So I see them struggle to get by on their meager savings and Social Security.
This all goes back to the idea that having to ask for help shows some sort of weakness.
My wife fought breast cancer eight years ago. As you can imagine, we learned a lot about many facets of life. She had great doctors, and the surgeries were very difficult, but overall, we made it through. That isn’t the part of the experience that surprised us the most.
What surprised us was all the help.
When you face a life-threatening illness (with four very young children), certain thoughts run through your mind. "How are we going to make it through this?"
We have some family down here, but they can only do so much. Somehow, we had to balance my wife's care and the rest she needed with the real-life demands of raising four children.
Then something amazing happened.
People came out of the woodwork to help us. While some were friends before the illness, most were mere acquaintances—maybe someone we had met once or twice. Sometimes, we were served by people who didn’t even know us but knew we were in need.
You don’t know what support is there until you really need it.
What is my point? American culture has taught us to be completely self-reliant, lest we become a burden to society and those around us. In almost every culture throughout history, community members have supported one another. This support was never seen as a sign of weakness; rather, it is simply how humans naturally organize themselves into societies.
There are people out there waiting to help. It gives them purpose and joy to be the helper.
Some retirees are getting roommates. Housing costs are completely out of control. If you are curious, you can go to www.SilverNest.com. It is well-designed and useful.
You don’t have to barely survive while many other people are out there, too, with limited resources. Not only does it save a ton of money, but many people also find they like having someone else around the house. Humans are social creatures.
The other episode reported on a fascinating study about the "oldest old," referring to individuals in their 90s and 100s. This study followed 14,000 participants and tracked their lives from early childhood. The insights gained from their experiences provide intriguing information about how they have lived so long. Interestingly, this is one of the longest-running studies in the history of the United States.
Smoking obviously lowered life expectancy dramatically, and genes played a big part, but some of the other findings were more surprising.
They found that drinking between one and three cups of coffee a day actually increased life span.
And get ready for this…drinking 1-2 alcoholic beverages daily increases life expectancy by 1-2 years. When you’re done reading this article, crack open a beer without shame. Your spouse might look at you strangely if you are reading this at seven in the morning.
The common belief is that red wine is healthy in moderation, but the study found that alcohol, in any form, was equally effective.
Exercise plays a significant role in overall health, and research has shown that exercising for forty-five minutes each day is ideal. Interestingly, working out for two hours does not yield better results than a shorter duration. You don't have to engage in intense workouts; moderate-intensity exercises can produce equally beneficial outcomes. Furthermore, it's not necessary to complete all forty-five minutes at once; you can break it up and spread the activity throughout the day.
One intriguing finding is that being slightly overweight can be beneficial as we age. While obesity is harmful, having a little extra weight as you get older may be associated with a longer lifespan. In fact, it's often better not to be too slim in your 90s.
Non-physical activities: book clubs, socializing with friends, board games- all good. They lead to a longer life.
Vitamins and supplements are a hot topic, but the study found no correlation between taking vitamins and living longer.
If you want to watch the segments go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqKfL3z5yM4 (the oldest of the old)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB8CddeNG2c (silver nest roommates)
Be Blessed,
Dave