This post may contain affiliate links, and I may earn compensation when you click on the links at no additional cost to you.
Introduction
I recently interviewed Heidi Herman, author of On With The Butter: Spread More Living onto Everyday Life. She offered several ideas on how seniors can continue to live life to the fullest post retirement. She also included some recipes for readers to try that will be shared at the end of this article.
From The Author…
This book was inspired by my mother, who lived her life to the fullest. She was born in 1925 in Iceland and immigrated to the US as a war bride in 1946. She lived every day to the fullest until her passing in 2019 at the age of 94. She was also an author, writing her first book at the age of 88, which inspired me to pursue my dream dream of writing. After 30 years in telecommunications, I wrote my first children’s book in 2015, a Christmas story based on Icelandic folklore. Today, I have six titles in multiple genres, from folklore, to a novel, to a cookbook, but all have elements of my Icelandic heritage. I live in South Dakota in South Dakota but snowbirds south in the winter to Arizona. In addition to writing, I love Scandinavian festivals, cooking, photography, travel, and exploring the outdoors.
How Did Her Mother Become Motivated to Learn New Things?
Heidi’s mother had a following on social media and inspired people. With her Scandinavian and Icelandic background, Heidi said she had the vitality of a Viking. Her mother was always adventurous as a child, because she liked exploring as a child in Iceland. She took care of animals as a child. Her mother was given a child size sickle when she was 10. She was proud that her grandfather trusted her to work alongside him searching for bird eggs and riding horses.
Heidi’s parents met at a USO dance. Her mother married an American in 1945 when she was 18. They had been married barely 70 years when her father passed away. Neither of her parents could understand each other when they met. Her mother believed life with her American husband was the beginning of an adventure. Heidi’s mother bore 10 children,. She was also a business owner, interested in the world, subscribed to Reader’s Digest, and took the family to music festivals and theatre. Her children developed an interest in the world as a result. Nothing was off limits for her mother. Her mother was always very curious. When her mother would climb a hill, she wanted to see the other side.
Heidi’s mother believed that when people approach retirement, they have a choice. Retirees can believe they are over the hill and see it as the end of things. Seniors can also interpret being “over the hill” meaning you cannot see the other side until you get there. Her mother lived life to the fullest throughout her life.
How Can Seniors Be Motivated to Keep Moving, Doing, and Living?
Heidi said it was an individual choice that no one should be forced to make. The key is understanding what you truly enjoy. Heidi emphasized that it can be tough to retire and to try to keep busy. Seniors can become involved in their local Chamber of Commerce, remain involved in part of the senior’s former career, and mentor others. Whatever keeps seniors motivated depends on what makes them happy. Seniors can spend time with their grandchildren.
Heidi suggested seniors spread living onto whatever is meaningful for them. Seniors can still embrace a passion for living that means something to them. The point of the book is to choose one idea and star from there. Seniors can decide for themselves what they like and what they don’t.
How To Encourage a Senior Who Just Lost a Loved One to Go On Living?
Heidi acknowledged that loss of a loved one is tough. Part of the enjoyment of life is sharing it with a partner who knows what they like. When a senior begins to move on, they will have new experiences without their partner. The loss of a loved one is not something people can force loved ones to “get over”. A widow/widower will begin to do things that are different than what they shared with their partner.
They may end up going to different restaurants, car shows, or community festivals. Seniors will meet new people with similar interests. They can also find friends with similar interests while volunteering at church. Eventually, seniors will begin to go out to dinner with new friends and spend time with them. A senior who lost their partner will never replace them. But they will begin to learn new habits, new interests, and new paths.
How To Encourage People with a Pre-Existing Condition to Live Their Lives?
Every senior’s life experience is depending on their age and life status. Heidi reminisced about when she had back surgery at age 19. She was unable to ride horseback and go on a roller coaster, but she could still go to a carnival. To this day, Heid is still unable to do some things due to her pre-existing condition.
A senior’s health can be affected if they don’t get their vitamin D or greenery. A retiree’s health improves when they are able to participate in physical activity such as walking. Being afraid to go outside can be more harmful to ourselves simply because of what we are afraid of. Seniors have many choices to challenge themselves and live life to the fullest that are outlined in the book. Activities include reading a book, going on a trail, checking out an outdoor garden or museum, or trying new outdoor activities. It’s a big world to explore. If seniors have physical limitations, they can play games. Seniors can try other activities that are not as difficult on their hands if they find it difficult to play bingo or card games. Heidi suggested seniors stay focused on what they can do instead of what they can’t.
How Heidi Learned From Her Mother On Living Life
Heidi’s mother loved paragliding. She went with her mother twice, but realized she still didn’t enjoy paragliding. Heidi also told the story of a gentleman from Iceland who created a custom glide for paraplegics to glide on. A volunteer continued to work with Meals and Wheels despite having had carpal tunnel surgery on both hands. The key is to for seniors to either make arrangements or do something different.
How To Encourage Seniors to Try Something New
Seniors go through a paradigm shift in their 50s, 60s and 70s. They lived their lives in a certain way. The more seniors open themselves to the opportunity to live life to the fullest through new experiences, the broader their life experience will be. If someone offers a friend a sandwich, the friend may say “No, thank you”. But it will be more out of habit and a knee jerk reaction than whether they like the sandwich itself.
When seniors say they don’t want to go to the zoo or to the ballet, then they close themselves off to the opportunity for a new experience. They also deny themselves the chance to live life to the fullest through saying “no” to new experiences and continue to be bored with life. Seniors can try a new route out to replace one they took for years. Seniors can volunteer to gain a new life experiences. When seniors attend a modern theatre performance, they can make start interesting conversations with new people about bad performances. Eventually, seniors make new friends and start gaining valuable life experiences.
Encouraging Seniors to Enjoy the Simple Things in Life Again
It is a challenge for seniors to remember what used to bring them enjoyment before they got too involved in work and raising a family. Seniors are encouraged to just say “Yes” to trying new things. There are 93 new experiences to try in her book that will help seniors live life to the fullest.
Suggestions included home projects like turning pine cones into flower arrangements. There are videos that show people how to do just about anything. Examples include cooking, painting rocks, recycling, and setting up free libraries. Seniors can learn to make things that will mean a lot to others that can be given to assisted living centers and hospitals. All it costs is time to turn the simplest materials into simple pleasures.
How Heidi’s Mother Enjoyed the Simple Things
When Heidi was visiting her mother one day, another visitor was knitting. Her mother remembered how to knit. She had forgotten how to knit for so many years. Heidi’s mother realized that she loved to knit and wondered if she could do it again.
How Can Seniors Decide Where to Volunteer
There are so many organizations that can use volunteers. Heidi suggested that a senior thinking about volunteering think about what means the most to them. She said that her volunteer experience has ranged from baking cookies to volunteering at a strawberry shortcake festival to picking up trash near a river. Heidi also suggested that seniors check out organizations including Meals on Wheels, beautification projects, disaster relief, food banks, organizations focusing on seniors or veterans or any other interest that resonates with the individual. Heidi suggested checking out Americorps.com, and additional websites named in the book for additional ideas on where to volunteer. She also suggested that if the community where a senior lives doesn’t have a volunteer program they are interested in, Heidi suggested the senior start an opportunity to volunteer for that particular interest.
How Can Seniors Learn About a Loved One’s Life?
There are several genealogy sites that seniors can use to find out about loved ones mentioned in Heidi’s book. The National Archives’ resources for genealogists, www.archives.gov/research/genelogy is one site Heidi mentioned. She also mentioned Grandmas Project, website grandmasproject.org, email address hello@grandmasproject.org. Heidi also recommended Ancestry.com. She is a member of the National Icelandic organization. Seniors can also check out their local community library, or a hometown historical section genealogy group that meets at a local library. Interested seniors start with their parents. They can find out things about their ancestors from their local town hall and courthouse through birth and marriage certificates, death records, and property deed searches.
If kids ask something about a grandparent or great-grandparent they never met, a senior can say “I don’t know, but it’s a very good question, so let’s find out.” It takes one spark of interest from grandchildren for them to be curious about long-lost relatives. History comes alive as grandchildren enjoy looking up their relatives, who become real instead of characters they never knew.
Heidi’s Memories
Heidi shared a personal story about how she found out that her great-grandmother had a great memory. She was good at math and competed in a tournament in 1919. Ancestors become real through research from questions. Relatives learn through research how their ancestors overcame challenges. and lived their lives. Grandchildren will begin to believe if their relatives went through life’s challenges and survived, so can they.
Where Seniors Should Start When Exploring Nature
Whether seniors are comfortable exploring nature depends on their interests. They can go to the zoo, botanical gardens, a local park, or volunteer for outside jobs like dog walking. A senior’s mental and physical health improves if they are able to go outdoors. Seniors should start local and easy. A half hour walk at a local park is a good way to start. As their comfort level grow, they can do more activities. If seniors are allergic to pollen, they should stay away from those plants, trees, etc.
Encouraging a Senior to Try Indoor and/or Outdoor Sports
Seniors should consider sports a fun activity and not focus as much on winning or losing. For seniors, taking part in sports is simply about choosing a sport or activity within their skill set. They can still have fun even if they are not good at it and still live life to the fullest. Sports for seniors should challenge their own skills instead of competing with others. Seniors should not think to themselves “I’m too old” before they even try it. But, it is recommended that seniors acknowledge what their personal limitations are as. That way, seniors can focus on sports that are less strenuous.
Heidi’s Mother’s Experiences
Heidi’s mother tried indoor climbing on her 90th birthday. She challenged herself by going up a 50 foot wall with safety harnesses and spotters. Her mother enjoyed it because she saw it as a challenge to herself. as she continued to live life to the fullest. Her mother signed up for a sun run even though she was neither a runner nor did a lot of walking. She was in a walker’s group. Her goal was not to finish but to see how far she could take it just for the experience of participating in a walk. She was not concerned about competing and winning. On the day of the sun run, there was a freak storm before the start of the race. Her mother still walked less than a block.
How Retirees Can Find Out About Landmarks and Activities in Their Town
Retirees should approach finding out about landmarks, activities, etc. as if they were a tourist in their own town. Seniors should check out the visitor’s page on their town’s website. From there they can plan a visit by deciding what to do and where to go. TripAdvisor is a good resource for what to do in their hometown. Groupon, website www.groupon.com, offers coupons and deals from businesses to get the word out about their landmarks. Eventbrite offers an online calendar and posts events on their website.. Seniors looking for something to do can check out a comedy club virtually or watch a play. They can get mental activity by looking at the Facebook tab on the website of their hometown instead of being afraid to go out..
Taking a Walk on the Wild Side
It is all about individual comfort zones that will help seniors live life to the fullest. Out of the many quotes in the book, Heidi quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson as saying:
Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better.
To continue to live life to the fullest, seniors need to put aside their preconceived ideas about certain activities. Seniors can take this opportunity to learn more about themselves and their world. Seniors who become so comfortable in their comfort zones that they are scared to do something different, they will lose out on new experiences. They experience small changes in their perception of life when they watch a sunrise over the ocean.
Seniors should hone in on an idea of watching a sunset in a different location. Sunsets become shimmery and golden when they are viewed over the ocean. When a senior says “yes” to seeking something out like viewing dolphins, they can begin to grow as a more rounded and understanding person. Seniors who deliberately seek something that takes them out of their comfort zone grow intellectually and emotionally. They also continue to live life to the fullest.
Playing Isn’t Just for Kids
How do you act an age you’ve never been before? People go through cycles throughout their lives. Play has always been part of what teaches us about the world. It was part of our education while we were in school. As kids grew into adults, they became less playful. Instead, they did things because it was the right thing to do at that time. Seniors need to remember how to do things that are playful by being spontaneous and continue to live life to the fullest post retirement.
There are times when seniors need to let go of the responsibility of being an “adult”. Seniors should take the time to dance in the rain, create snow angels, pick up grass to whistle through, play hopscotch or dancing to music. They need to be able to embrace the things that make us laugh. Seniors can continue to have fun while still “acting their age” with their responsibilities. Seniors are encouraged to have fun and live life to the fullest despite any limitations they perceive themselves as having.
Heidi’s Memories of Mother Being Playful
Heidi was on a trip with her mother when they decided at the spur of the moment to stop at a winery after they saw it advertised on a billboard. Her mother suggested that they check it out. They ended up listening tp and dancing to polka music. Heidi and her mother had fun because they made the time to just try the winery instead of researching the winery. If they had scheduled an outing, they may have missed out on great memories.
Encouraging Seniors to Try Technological Advances Such as Zoom
Technology is there to serve us, so there is not much we can do to mess it up. Heidi compared learning technology to marrying a a man from rural South Dakota. She learned how to can and make bread. Heidi said it was initially intimidating to learn. But, she emphasized that learning to do anything in life involves a learning curve. No one is an expert. People of all ages can learn anything in life. It takes trial and error and a lot of practice.
Seniors are encouraged to take baby steps on learning technology. Depending on the individual, it can mean learning how to log onto Zoom, understanding what hash tagging is, or finding events on Facebook. Learning technology helps seniors build on their experiences when they learn new things. They should not feel anyone is keeping score. It should not matter to them whether anyone else knows whether or not they know what hash tagging is. Seniors should not be afraid of technology any more than they would riding in a car or bus; they may not know the nuts and bolts of the mechanics of driving a car, but they still enjoy riding in vehicles. Retirees should feel the same way about technology. While they may not have the same level of knowledge a computer programmer does, seniors can still enjoy technology and all it offers instead of being afraid of it.
Conclusion
These are just a few of the things Heidi talked about in the interview. To find out more about how seniors can continue to live life to the fullest as they discover new things in life, click the title at the beginning of this post. Seniors have the choice to either remain afraid to try new things or have the confidence to enrich their lives by saying “yes” to new experiences. They can “spread more living onto everyday life.”
Recipes
Heidi gave me permission to include recipes found in the book. Click on the following two links for the full recipes.
Cauliflower-Banana Muffins Recipe – Heidi Herman.docx
Crock-Pot Apple Butter Recipe – Heidi Herman.docx
