Dear Editor:
On turning 80:
In a few weeks I shall be an octogenarian!
I still have all my marbles, I don’t need a walker and I don’t dribble when I eat.
My blood pressure is a little high and I get out of breath more quickly than I used to.
I have many friends and acquaintances who are in their 80s and I admire their enthusiasm for learning new skills and keeping up with modern technology. It is not so easy for us as we have had to learn it late in life. We do our best to figure out iPads, iPhones and the server we need to keep us in touch with emailing etc.
We do get a lot of support from our local communities — they shuttle us to the stores, to concerts if necessary and visits to the hospital.
Some of us who have the means are lucky to travel to such exotic places as India and the Far East. Those who can’t can still take in wonderful day trips to Whistler and the Gulf Islands.
Our generation has lived through the Second World War, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
Having lost friends and spouses over the years, it makes us more conscious of how precious life is and the value of family.
For those of us lucky to have grandchildren, we get great pleasure from watching them grow up, graduate and then marry.
Some days it may be an effort to get going, but keep at it all you wonderful 80-year-olds!
Imelda Davis
West Vancouver
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