As you might know, Ruthy and I turned ninety years of age at the end of last year and relatives and friends did not let this event go by without throwing several parties.
This was very unusual since, at this time of the year, almost everybody is tired out from the many Christmas celebrations or resting up for a New Year's Eve party.
Not so this time, however, and especially Ruthy—my alter ego who loves the lighter side of life—was absolutely delighted!
Needless to say, however, that after several parties including visits to Vancouver and Everest, Wa., we had to take a rest.
But, here we are now, ready for more adventures!
Senior life can be quite exhausting, you know.
Take any second Tuesday of the month, for instance. For us, Ruthy and I, it usually starts by going with Liz, our next door neighbor, to Logan Manor for a Chair Yoga session.
Chair Yoga you might think is very easy, but you might be surprised. We will write more about this at another time.
After yoga and a coffee break with some of our resident friends, we were picked up by friends and off we went to the Royal Canadian Legion around the corner.
It so happens that every second Tuesday of the month some of the ladies there put on a lunch and this one was special because they had Valentines Day on their mind.
There were two musicians everybody likes, especially Ruthy.
But even she had to agree that a little rest after lunch would be beneficiary before going back to Logan Manor for a sing-along with the residents.
Renate—one of our friends and herself being in her early eighties—is organizing these sing-along events for a long time now and usually even brings a cake along for the coffee break.
Renate is joined by three or four musicians lately, not to forget her son, Peter, and his friend, Melanie, who come and play their trumpets whenever they are here for a visit.
All in all, thanks to these people—all of them seniors too—these sing-alongs are always a lot of fun and put everybody in a good mood.
Ruthy and I would have liked to stay longer, but we gladly accepted a ride to Harrison Hot Springs where we live.
Needless to say that we both went to bed early and slept like rocks.
Talking about it the next day we both agreed that it is beneficial for us seniors - no matter what age - to stay connected with family and friends in whatever way: by phone, letters and whatever else is available.
It is the best way to make you feel young and well, relatively fit.
There are plenty of opportunities to meet with other seniors, so let's have fun together as long as we can.
Since Ruthy and I have decided to write more about "this side of ninety" we would like to end our first report with some thoughts on how to address seniors.
To clarify the issue, we looked up in our Canadian dictionary and here is what it says: "A senior person is a person with experience, knowledge and acquired wisdom at the school of life."
There you have it, it is an honourable title with the ring of a diploma.
And this is, we believe, why the title "Senior" has endured while many others rightly went out the window.