By Vivian Blevins
Contributing columnist
After months of being made aware multiple times each day of the ages of former president Donald Trump and current president Joe Biden, we move on to the Olympics.
And age moves center stage again — only this time we’re bombarded with the ages of the Olympians: 15, 17, 30 with Simone Bile’s age of 27 being touted repeatedly. And we all breathe a sigh of relief when she proves herself to be the star we always knew her to be — and she shares part of that process she took following the Tokyo Olympics to bring herself to be one of the Golden Girls, representing the U.S.A. in gymnastics in 2024.
If you’re like me, you’ve been thinking about age. And I’ve been studying about the subject using a college textbook on gerontology.
No, I do not intend to plagiarize anything from that text. And I realize with a publication date that is less than recent, the information in that text is dated as our nation ages and the demand for new research becomes more pressing. And it’s not my intent to begin an in-depth study of gerontology as if I were preparing to teach a unit on, for example, “Working with the Elderly” in a college class in communication or exploring the trajectory of Ernest Hemingway’s work from the Nick Adams stories to “The Old Man and the Sea” in an American literature course.
As we watch the Olympic games, we ask ourselves what sports we have been a part of and what sports do we wish we had played. Do I have regrets? Maybe a little. I dabbled in basketball (played guard for the Salvation Army in Toledo), volleyball, golf, tennis, swimming, and horseback riding. At one time I was almost 5-foot-10 tall (I’ve learned that the average adult loses about three inches over time, so if your height is not what it once was, join the crowd).
Even being tall and of a healthy weight as a girl/young woman, I would never have excelled in any of these sports — even with a competent coach. I remember my PE faculty member my freshman year of college told us to not attend classes as he was too busy coaching the basketball team to be bothered with us (he probably couldn’t get away with that today).
And now I look in the mirror and ask, “Who is that woman?”
My whole body has changed as lean muscle mass declines and fat accelerates. I remember that at one time I was at the spa at least three times a week and rode my bike every day the weather was decent. Then, my priorities changed.
I’ve had the broken bones that many of you have experienced, and as I’ve aged, the twinges have returned to remind me of the year I fractured my second cervical vertebra in a car accident or the evening following a conference I broke my left foot in two places in a hole at a poorly-kept lawn at a Troy motel. And there’s more, but I’m sure you are not interested in my medical history.
I enjoy, however, cataloging my scars as they remind me of a childhood when my father and others called me “a ring -tailed monkey.” The Cumberland River, mountains, railroad tracks, gondolas, creeks, fireworks, and a coal tipple that ran over my maternal grandmother’s property were my playground. I loved them all, but as soon as the workers at the coal tipple left for the day, I was up the rough-cut lumber steps to begin exploring.
As I age, I know that I have had an incredible life, I am blessed and there is no need for you or me to lament what we failed to do. Giving birth to two sons and being a part of their lives heads my list of blessings. My pursuit of higher education (I never would have dreamed as a kid that I would earn a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University). Important work for decades in colleges from “the coalfields of Kentucky to the California sun.” Travel outside of the U.S, 30 plus times as well as throughout this great country.
So do I have any advice for my readers? Embrace yourself and your flaws as we all have them. Do the same for family, friends, and co-workers. Be independent as long as you are able: have a nutritious diet (I can write this because I’m doing that now). Exercise, even if it is bed exercises (I’ve been doing this for 14 months). Get a doctor who will help you monitor your health and send you to specialists as necessary. Volunteer at an organization that strikes a positive cord with you. Read if that appeals to you. Play pickleball, golf, take a college course in whatever.
And finally, my ex-husband took his own life four years ago. This has been a challenge for our whole family. This horrific experience, however, made me realize that ugly events can be a part of our lives, events that require us to process and come to terms with them. On a pragmatic level, I knew at the time of his death that I needed to find time to get my financial/property/end-of life house in order. And I did. It took hours and hours; however, once I had completed the multiple tasks, a calm about that part of my life came over me. This is YOUR responsibility, and it is selfish of you to relegate that to those you leave behind. And I’ve heard from so many friends that someone else will handle this.
As you assess your life, accept what you cannot change. And find joy.
Dr. Vivian Blevins used her quality experiences at Urbana College as a young professor and Director of Teacher Education to propel herself into 15 years as a college president/chancellor at Southeast Kentucky Community College, Lee College ( Texas), Rancho Santiago College District, (California), and St. Louis Community College District. After two decades at Edison State Community College as a faculty member and a director of dozens of events, she now volunteers at Miami Valley Veterans Museum and serves on the Diversity Committee at Edison State.
