Older Americans Month
May is Older Americans Month. Established in 1963 and led by the Administration for Community Living, the month is a time to acknowledge the contributions and achievements of older Americans, highlight important trends, and strengthen a commitment to honor older citizens.
As an 80-year-old American, I’m grateful that at least one month is designated to honor us, but I wonder why we don’t do that every month of the year. I teach classes at the San Antonio Senior Centers and too many of those folks are left behind. They have so much wisdom and experience to share with the world, but they’ve been relegated to the Senior Centers for free lunches and bingo.
Who is classified as an “older American” anyway? According to the U.S. Census Bureau, people who are aged 65 and older are part of the “older population.”
Let’s do some math. Assuming that our adult life starts at 18 and we live to be 98, which is not at all unusual these days, that would give us 80 years of adult life to work with. At 65, we’ve used up 47 of those adult years, leaving us with 33 years to work with. We still have 41% of our adult life in front of us. (thank you to Chip Conley for this formula)
That brings to mind Mary Oliver’s beautiful beautiful question at the end of her poem, A Summer’s Day. “Tell me, what is it you’re going to do with your one wild and precious life?”
As we honor older Americans this month, let’s remember that we’re honoring our future selves. We’re all headed for the same place, and we have a lot to say about what that place will look like.