Welcome Baby Boomers and Beyond to Fiddlehead, the quarterly newsletter from Ageinista, dedicated to making the second half of life a time of discovery, renewal, and great fun. Join me as we discover the gifts of this very precious life stage.

2010 is a big year for me. In addition to starting Fiddlehead, I also turn 60 this year. Although I feel young, I was reminded earlier this month that I am truly in the second half of life. While waiting to see my doctor, I was talking with the nurse who was verifying my personal information. She looked at me and said, "You look good." I thanked her for the compliment, and then she repeated with more emphasis, "You look really good." I reminded her that I was seeing the doctor about my knee and so wasn't really sick, thinking she thought I didn't look sick enough to be in the doctor's office. She smiled at me and said, "I'm looking at your chart and you look really good for your age." Honestly, it was a shock to have someone apply the phrase "for your age" to me. What does "for your age" mean? Well, I'm mostly over it, and I'm working on seeing her comment as a stimulus to my own vital aging thoughts.

Each issue I will share information about what contributes to living a vibrant and happy second half of life and how to apply this information to our own lives. In this first issue, we will look at what researchers have learned about aging well from the longest running study of aging in the world.

WHAT WE KNOW
Can you do something today that will improve the quality of your life as you age? Can you influence how happy you will be in the future? The answer to both these questions is yes. In Aging Well, George Vaillant, MD, shares what he has learned from the Study of Adult Development at Harvard University. From this very credible and respected study comes specific advice about how to "age well."

Dr. Vaillant does not prescribe one sole path to successful aging but suggests one common goal: "How can we make the journey past three-score-and twenty one that we will be glad we made." According to Vaillant, positive aging means "to love, to work, to learn something we did not know yesterday, and to enjoy the remaining precious moments with loved ones."

So, what are some of the more significant findings revealed by this study. Early in the book, Vaillant identifies the following: WHAT WE CAN DO
How can we use this information to promote our own successful aging? It was comforting for me to have this research reinforce my belief that what happens to us in life is less important than how we react. How do we interpret illness? How do we accept people into our lives and appreciate what we have? A common thread running through many of the characteristics of successful agers was the importance of their personal relationships.

Answer the following questions. If you are part of an Ageinista group, discuss your answers with your group. If not, find a like-minded partner to share your responses. You may want to keep a journal of your thoughts and reactions.

How do you define successful aging?

What is positive about the second half of life?

How is your life better now than it was ten years ago?

Identify 5 key people in your life. What do you appreciate about them?

How do you rate your health?

What is one thing you can do this week to: