GEEZER TIPS

Geezer Tips

Geezer Tips                                                June 2020

You may not be over 60 yet, but one day you will be. I can tell you after 12 years of experience that these are wonderful years. They can be filled with patience, fond memories that permit forgiveness for today’s little challenges, and wisdom from way too much knowledge about how things change constantly yet stay the same on the basics. So, if you are not there yet, read it and file this where you can find it, and give a copy to a friend who is there already.

  1. Don’t worry about little things. Most things are little.
  2. If you get a chance to go then go; that includes trips to the bathroom and a trip to Italy.
  3. While driving your car, the third time in a week that you say, “Where did that car come from” is a good time to take a senior driving course on line. AAA offers a good one. Our layers of thought increase and staying focused on the task of driving is so natural that the mind drifts. More accidents occur turning left.
  4. Having a place for every tool you use is important.   Otherwise you end up with 15 different kinds of spatulas and forty screw drivers.
  5. Your heirs don’t want all that stuff you are saving for them.   If they do want something, they will tell you long before you are gone. Donate it to a charity because someone needs it right now. If they are not happy about it, you won’t be around to hear the complaints. You don’t need three vacuum cleaners.
  6. By the time you get around to using that “back up” to the item you are saving, there will be a better one on the market at half price. After six years, you can’t remember if it works anyway. One less thing to dust.
  7. Avoid hospitals and doctors for all the small stuff.   Heart problems, bleeding, loss of appetite, loss of balance, and pain levels over 5 are not small stuff: see a doctor.
  8. My friend Harry consults three of those close to him on every major change in life. Harry is very smart. Because of this, he has 400% of the wisdom needed to make a decision.
  9. Be kind to everyone and forget about the ones who continue to be a problem. Lavish the first and pray for the second. You are not required to spend time with anyone that makes you feel bad about your life, including relatives.
  10. When you turn 40 you   learn to take time to think over a request. When you turn 50 you learn to say No. When you turn 60 you learn to say Maybe. When you turn 70 you learn that you don’t have to answer at all.
  11. Napping is wonderful.   We lived in Spain and a siesta was normal. I can’t sleep more than 45 minutes in daylight without forgetting my name, so I sleep 44 when I can.
  12. If you have to remember something important, keep a Daytimer. Mine has lists of things to do that I cross off when finished. This gives a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day when I can see the completed items. I also retain them for important phone numbers.
  13. Mark important objects with something completely out of character like putting a fork on top of the box of rose food. It will remind you to feed the roses. Oh yes, growing something can be very relaxing and sharing what you grow is a special way to care for others. The dollar store has vases, bowls and boxes.
  14. Keep phone calls, stories, and comments under five minutes with someone who is working.   Respect other people’s time by being ready when you agreed to. If you are always late, schedule the time to depart not the time to arrive. The older you get the longer it will take to get ready. Stay ahead of it all by preparing what you can before.
  15. As much as possible work on one thing at a time. I do a lot of paperwork in my real estate business. Recently I lost my five-page list of passwords. I know exactly where it is. It got gathered with a property file and is in the cabinet with one of them.   Which one? Who knows.
  16. I started for the mailbox to put an outbound letter in it and saw that I forgot to coil the hose so I put the letter on a shelf and realized the rose bush had a dead branch. I went to the tool cabinet to get a cutter but saw the cookies in the kitchen and stopped to eat one. Half way through I knew we were out of milk, so I wanted to put that on the list but couldn’t find it. When I put the unused pen down, I saw that I hadn’t finished the breakfast dishes. I started in on them, and then the phone rang.   I now have a letter on a shelf somewhere , a lost grocery list, a half eaten cookie, no milk, dirty dishes,and an hour on the phone but can’t remember what we talked about. Stay focused.
  17. Limit “constructive criticism” to one small thought in every ten visits.
  18. Even better, wait for them to come to you for advice. Even then, stay focused on what they can take care of themselves.   Questions like, “How would you handle that?” can be very productive.
  19. If someone asks for money, give them a job to do to earn it.
  20. If you only read one book a year, how many more will you read? Choose wisely.
  21. Stay close to your Maker and His Son for the day of Intimate Fellowship will be sooner than you expected.   Prayer, reading The Book, and helping others along their journey of spiritual development should do the trick.

Things will not be perfect, but there is still a lot to enjoy isn’t there? Focus on those.

You can find over 100 of Bob’s previous articles at https://aguynamedbobblog.wordpress.com

 

Published by aguynamedbobblog

Bob is a Christian man who makes a living in real estate, serves at his church, and writes with passion about all in the world that impresses him. Surround by beauty, glory, and miracles it is hard not to write with gratitude because we are so blessed. A sunrise over the mountains, a perfect azure wave breaking with dolphins surfing through it, a piece of pecan pie with coffee, a grandchild's smile; who are we that God could so richly endow us with these pleasures?! Life is to love and share with others all that we enjoy.