Celebrating the Gift of Life As We Age
Joyous Singers
This afternoon, Joyous Singers, my chorus of music-loving seniors will sing at the memorial service of a longtime beloved choral member. On a recent Thursday at one of our final rehearsals before the start of our spring concert series, a group of us chatted amiably before the start of practice. Our soon-to-be deceased friend seemed fine. But the next day, we learned that she had suddenly passed away. Poof. After so many seasons of singing, she was gone.
As deaths go, this was a good one—no years of prolonged suffering from a debilitating disease. I can’t help wishing my own mother had not had to endure years of progressive dementia prior to her death. Why, I wonder, couldn’t she simply have dropped dead feeding her cat as her sister had?
Some things, though, are simply out of our control. The only certainty is death. Unless we choose to end our own lives, we don’t really know how or when they will end.
As an older person, I’m well aware that death is coming to me sooner rather than later. In some ways, I’ve found that awareness to be a positive aspect of aging. I’m keenly aware that despite its painful losses and inevitable challenges, life is a temporary blessing to be celebrated.
I’ve become much more intentional about expressing my love and appreciation for my amazing husband, children, grandchildren, and siblings. I am more conscious of the joy I experience as I engage in things that nurture me, whether singing, writing, or spending time with loved ones. And oh, how I treasure humor and its healing power!
Our senior chorus includes folks who struggle to walk and for whom aging has meant an inevitable decline in physicality. And yet, in our rehearsals, there is a lot of laughter and sheer enjoyment of spending time in community with folks who share a love of music.
We are alive. We are grateful. We are singing.