Smorgasbord Posts from Your Archives 2022 – Why I am skipping old age and heading into my second childhood by Sally Cronin

This post was first published on the wonderful Sue Vincent’s blog in 2018 and four years later I can honestly say that I am enjoying my Second Childhood in most repects. A little slower maybe and not quite as fearless as the first time around, but I do believe that however much time you may have in front of you, it should be fully embraced and celebrated.

Sally aged 7 years old – looking forward and not back

Why I am skipping Old Age and embarking on my Second Childhood instead.

I have researched the delights of Old Age rigorously, in an effort to determine if I want to actually accept the title. I looked after my mother for several years in her late 80s to her mid-90s, and I would say that she was young at heart until dementia robbed her of that at age 92.

She said that she felt the same inside as she had as a young woman, despite the wrinkles and failing body. She proved to me that Attitude is the key to anti-aging not botox or other miracle wrinkle busters.

I was 60 years old when she passed away and I felt that it was my obligation to carry on the family tradition she had established, to maintain at the very least a young outlook on life. I have spent the last nine years attempting to achieve this desired state.

The first stage is to determine if you are already in danger of becoming one of the Old Age Brigade!

I use a little check list to identify where I am on the scale of maturity and I call it the Old Fogies Alert Test... It is a little bit of fun but it is amazing how closely I can identify with some of these statements for myself and friends and relatives who are over a certain age.

• Conversations with friends your own age turn into ‘duelling ailments’
• Your idea of a night out is sitting on your patio.
• You buy clothes that hide your body rather than enhance it.
• You give up all your bad habits and you still don’t feel good.
• You feel that no one respects your opinions anymore
• You keep repeating yourself.
• You resist going to places where you will meet new people, preferring the comfort of your known friends and acquaintances.
• You begin every sentence with ‘Nowadays or In My Day or When I was your age’
• You constantly criticise the younger generation.
• You feel that it is not worth changing at your age as it will not make a difference
• You order the same meal every time you go to a restaurant.
• Happy hour is a nap.
• You stop celebrating birthdays as it reminds you of how old you are.

As a contrast here is a list of the magical wonder of the world that I remember from when I was seven years old.

• Everyone is your friend until they prove otherwise.
• Going to school and learning to read and write is thrilling
• Soap bubbles, sixpence to spend on sweets, and a Christmas stocking are eagerly anticipated and treasured.
• You don’t like Brussel Sprouts but you eat them because mum says they are good for you, and you get treacle tart afterwards if you eat them.
• A book with pictures at bedtime is the best time of the day.
• Raindrops on the windowpane keep you fascinated for hours.
• The wonder of your first snowfall.
• The distraction of a spinning top that was meant for Christmas, but helps ease the pain of an ear-ache.
• The love of older sisters who let you tag along behind them and who make you smocked dresses with knickers to match.
• Watching cartoons on Saturday morning and laughing like a drain without worrying about what others might think.
• Hearing music and dancing as if nobody is watching.
• Singing along to your favourite songs, especially The Ugly Bug Ball.
• Believing in fairies and Father Christmas
• The future stretches ahead full of wondrous possibilities

One of the key differences between a child’s outlook in life and someone who has accepted the Old Age title.. is one is looking forward and one is looking back!

This is why I love blogging and writing books.

I am looking forward to….

• Getting up each morning and checking my blog for interaction from my online friends.
• Chatting with friends on Facebook and catching up with the ‘overnighters’ on Twitter.
• Planning next week’s posts, laughing at the videos of dogs having fun and finding new jokes to make people smile.
• Writing another short story and looking forward to sharing it with friends.
• Reading posts from around the world that entertain, inform and expand my knowledge.
• Trying one of the recipes for a food I think as commonplace that has been elevated by a creative cook.
• Reading a poem that makes me cry.
• Wishing someone thousands of miles away Happy Birthday.
• Looking forward to Christmas and sharing that time with everyone I am connected to.
• Believing in magic and fairies
• Changing someones attitude to life, love and the future with my writing.
• Sharing this post with you today.
• The future stretches ahead with wondrous possibilities
• Looking forward and not back.

©Sally Cronin 2018

About me….

I have enjoyed a nomadic existence living in eight countries including Sri Lanka, Malta, South Africa, USA and Spain, before settling back here in Ireland. My work, and a desire to see some of the most beautiful parts of the world in the last forty years, has taken me to many more incredible destinations around Europe and Canada, and across the oceans to New Zealand and Hawaii. All those experiences and the people that I have met, provide a rich source of inspiration for my stories.

After a career in customer facing roles in the hospitality, retail, advertising and telecommunications industry, I wrote and published my first book in 1999 called Size Matters, about my weight loss journey, losing 150lbs in 18 months. This has been followed by 14 further fiction and non-fiction books, including a number of short story collections.

My first book release resulted in a radio interview in Spain that led to four years as a nutritional consultant for an English language station, and this was followed by four years with my own health show and Sunday morning show on local radio station in the UK and then as station director, newsreader and presenter for an online television station.

As a writer I know how important it is to have help in marketing books and from 2002 I have been working with authors on their book launches and publicity. At that time it was very much physical book launches and press coverage locally to stimulate national interest.. Today it is very different with a global market via the worldwide web.

As important as my own promotion is, I believe it is important to support others within our community. I offer a number of FREE promotional opportunities on my blog, linked to my social media. If you are an author who would like to be promoted to a new audience of dedicated readers, please contact me via my blog. All it will cost you is a few minutes of your time. Look forward to hearing from you.

For 2022 there are some changes to the promotions with the focus on those authors I can personally recommend and you can find the details here…The Smorgasbord Bookshelf – 2022 – Free book marketing and Personal Recommendations

You can connect to me on the blog: Smorgasbord Blog Magazine Twitter: @sgc58 – Facebook: Sally Cronin – LinkedIn: Sally Cronin

You can find recent reviews and buy links: Sally’s books and recent reviews