As we say hello to a brand new year, we welcome the fresh beginning. Some of us want to make resolutions about the new year, but deciding to age in place does not need to be on the list. Being safer is a good idea!
Time rolls along
We are at the threshold of another year. 2022 has moved by very quickly. 2023 lies ahead – possibly to move as quickly or even quicker than what we have just experienced. For whatever reason, time does seem to accelerate as we get older. During this past year, some of us moved into a different home, but most of us remained in the homes we had been occupying when the year began – for a variety of reasons.
We can cite familiarity with the neighborhood, a general home layout that we like and that is comfortable for us, the economic factors of trying to replace what we have, and the overwhelming amount of stuff we have accumulated over the years as reasons to remain living in our current home. For the most part, it’s just easier to stay put, and so we do.
This is a fundamental concept of aging in place – that we tend to continue living in the home where we have for an extended period of time. Some people have lived in their same, current home for decades.
No need for a resolution
As the current year ends and the new one arrives, it’s customary to make some resolutions, predictions, or affirmations about what we want to see happen when the calendar changes. Fortunately aging in place does not need to be on our list – doing a better job of it or remaining safer can work, but the act of aging in place will occur anyway.
It does not take a new year’s resolution, or a statement of any type, to age in place. We just need to do it. Even if we aren’t doing it consciously or not sure that we even are doing it, we are still doing it. It’s a natural process. Our challenge then is to do it better, happier, safer, and more enjoyably than in previous months and times.
If we want a new year’s resolution for aging in place because it just seems that we should have one to kick off 2023, then we should endeavor to be safer in our homes, to pick up and remove potential tripping situations, and to avoid stretching and reaching for objects that are beyond a safe grasp.
We should want the same safe experiences for those around us as well.