Article contentThen, when COVID-19 struck, the couple drew on wisdom from the past to address the present problems.Article content“My husband and I made a concerted effort in the last two to three years to not have drama within our lives. When you cut people out who do not bring you positivity, you start realizing you didn’t even miss them. But this doesn’t mean that there are no upsets, sorrow or people don’t go through bad things, ’cause we all do,” she says.Article content“But we don’t need to surround ourselves with anybody who lives in constant drama, right?”Article content‘Slow down, cherish the moments’Article contentFrom being young and carefree to raising a family, working, and then slowing down to enjoy their golden years, Wright plans to engage daily.Article content“You focus on all that busy stuff, and then comes the age where you’re like, ‘Oh, now I have to plan my life as I’m going to die,’ but you don’t dwell on this morbid thought. Instead, slow down, cherish the moments, and ensure that you have a will, so your family doesn’t have to deal with that stress.”Article contentArticle contentWright’s final advice is to sit with seniors and learn from their experiences. She believes that their wisdom can help prepare for the final season of life with peace and acceptance.Article contentTime fliesArticle contentAnd when it comes to realizing how quickly time goes by, Lorna McCartney can relate with nostalgia to her carefree youth.Article contentThere would be classroom Christmas parties or school dances on a Friday afternoon, playing volleyball in gym class, skipping English to sip Arizona on the docks and playing Crazy Eights.Article content“I wish I knew just how good it was back then and could hold on to those moments longer. Who would have thought 20 years would go by so quickly,” reflects McCartney, who now resides in Halifax.Article content Lorna McCartney with her former dog, Buddy. ContributedArticle contentShe perceives her youth as a simpler time, when a home-cooked dinner was always waiting, a clean home, groceries in the cupboards, and the company of friends.Article contentArticle contentThere were few worries about the future.Article content“Looking back at those days, I didn’t realize how big of a moment those events would be, and it just sits with you all these years later.”Article contentOver time, many of those high school friendships have faded away, the family home is long gone, and loved ones have died.Article contentWith a tearful voice, McCartney recalls, “I had a dog called Buddy. I grew up in Alberta, and that’s where we adopted him. Buddy moved with me at least three times, so he was always a constant, even though everything else in my life was changing. He was my everything. He died in 2018 from old age.”Article contentIf there’s one big takeaway, McCartney advises those in their youth to cherish their family, the ones they love, and those carefree moments with friends and school because the future becomes more uncertain with age.Article contentBecoming mindfulArticle contentWendy Wishart, from Sydney, C.B., will be 68 in August, and as a result, she has become more mindful of the time she has left.Article content“I no longer bother with getting my hair cut, styled, and coloured. That’s time that I spend in a stylist’s chair, listening to her yammer on about her kids. No more,” she says.Article content“I have also stopped devoting time to bad books and movies. I’ll give a book 60 pages, and if it doesn’t improve, I’m done. A movie gets 20 minutes, and if it doesn’t sing to me, to hell with it. I also don’t waste time trying to repair toxic relationships. Every moment is precious, and I refuse to devote any time to anything that doesn’t please me.”Article content
Time flies: How these East Coasters changed their perspectives after realizing they had subtly grown old
