Young at Heart Documentary

I just finished watching the documentary "Young at Heart" and loved it so much that I had to blog about it. Although it was a major tearjerker for me it was also inspirational. The movie, makes one feel that aging should not be the reason for remaining status quo in you life. I used to date a man who always said, when I wanted to do something new "been there, done that". He was satisfied with things as they were and wasn't interesting in branching out very far. I am thankful he is in my past because I believe that it is important to continue experiencing new - and sometimes scary things throughout one's life. That is exactly what the elderly people in the movie did - and what I am trying to do. I think we sometimes quit taking risks in life mostly out of fear. It took me a long time to learn that.

I always have thought of myself as a late bloomer. I followed the rules and didn't color outside of the lines until I got into my 30's and got divorced. For example, when my son was born and he was given to me swaddled in his blanket in the hospital, no one told me that I could unwrap him. So instead I just hoped that he wasn't shaped like a big thumb and that he had all of his fingers and toes. I couldn't wait to get him home to check! Unbelievable, isn't it?

I've enjoyed traveling but didn't do it much because I thought I had to have a traveling partner. I missed out on many trips because I was either with someone who didn't like to travel or was by myself. Yes, I travel for work by myself but it's different and I felt more vulnerable going on vacation alone.

By shear luck (or divine intervention) about 4 years ago I met a woman who inspired me to confront my travel fears. She was on my flight one evening (yes, the story of my life) and was heading to give a workshop about journaling your travels. She told me that she had been traveling alone to Italy for the past 10 years. She enthusiastically explained all of the reasons traveling alone can be fun. By the time we landed, I was buoyed up to plan a solo trip. I decided that I'd ease into this solo traveling idea by choosing a country that spoke English so I planned a trip to England. That almost felt like I was "cheating" on my adventure. Of course I quickly learned that speaking English and England-ish are two different things. I can't count how many times I nodded my head "yes" in the UK when I had no idea what they said and to what I was agreeing. Despite many funny and not so funny mishaps, that trip was such a success that I've continued traveling out of the country once a year since.

Now that I've conquered that goal /fear, I'm ready for more. I bought a small camper van last year and want to camp across the USA with just my dog. I want to write more and learn more, and help people to laugh more. Long before I saw the documentary "Young at Heart", I had decided that you are never too old to take risks. That movie just reinforced my beliefs and showed me that even at 90 plus years, life should continue to be an adventure.

I plan to experience - and write about them all.