I just love modern technology. When my grandson was little he came home from school and said, “Gran, we should get the internet!”
“Why do we need the internet?” I asked
“Well,” said the bright young man, “if you want to find something out, all you need to do is type in, “www.whateveryouwant” and hey presto you get it!”
Well, when you have eager young minds in your home you have to keep up with the times so very shortly thereafter we got connected! And he was right! It changed our lives and we found that at last, we had arrived in the future.
I think the internet, email, Whatsapp etc is especially important for the elderly. They, of course, are the ones who are most resistant to change. But once they get into it most agree that it makes a huge difference to their lives. It keeps them in touch with their children and grandchildren, it helps them with their banking, those whose vision is fading can find audiobooks online, youtube is such fun, the list goes on.
For a few years, before I came to live in Struisbaai, I used to give individual lessons to retirees in the privacy of their own homes on their own computers. Usually, these computers had been given to them by their children who wanted them to get into email etc but because of their busy lifestyles and lack of patience, they never got round to teaching Mom and Dad how to use the device.
Almost without exception, these older people would tell me – I hate this contraption, I wish my son had never brought it into my house but now he is pressuring me to learn to use it!
I would spend the first lesson getting my learner to make friends with the awful thing. Once they realised that they could not break the computer we started to have fun. How rewarding it was to see the delight on their faces when they realised what they could do with this new magical device.
Now that I am a retiree myself I understand how frustrating it is when technology keeps changing and you have to keep updating yourself on the latest innovations. We become so comfortable with the old and well-known. But, I still love it. I am still fascinated by the progress of things digital. And I am so glad that I have this technology in my old age as it certainly prevents me from becoming bored.
The newest way in which I am using my computer is for exercise! When I was younger, it didn’t matter what the weather was like, I would still go out, with my demanding dog, for an invigorating jog. But now, I use any kind of weather as an excuse not to go for my daily walk. It might be too hot, too cold, too wet or too windy! Why, at my age, should I battle the irritating southeaster to get my daily workout. Yet I miss it if I don’t so I googled indoor walking programmes and to my delight found a number of youtube videos that are most suitable and can be done with limited space.
My favourite is Walk At Home. The workouts are based on four basic steps and come at various levels. They are super easy to follow and give you a really good workout. So now when the weather is good, I go for a walk in the fresh air and along our beautiful beach because I simply can’t give up that pleasure but my main form of exercise is right here in my own home.
If you’re too shy to go to a gym or feel pressured by comparing yourself to others then online exercise is the answer. You can go at your own pace, do it when you like and it’s free! You can find yoga, pilates, Zumba and many other kinds of workouts too. You have nothing to lose (besides a few kilogrammes if you need to) and much to gain (in health and well-being.) Give it a go!
Adventuring into Retirement 