Celebrating 60 Years and 6 Years!

This week begs for reflection. A milestone birthday can be a time to look at the value of a life. A pulse taking. Coincidentally, it is also our company’s anniversary.

Recently, we began working with a fellow company in the Chicagoland area to coordinate the moving of a Customer from St. Pete to a northern suburb of Chicago. The company’s name is Honoring Aging. They have been a delight to work with (as many of our NASMM colleagues are) but their name has been top of mind this week as I celebrate six decades of mostly joy-filled years on this earth and the anniversary of the company I founded six years ago.

Never before have I been more connected to the aging process than I have these past six years working primarily with seniors who need help with the downsizing and relocation process. These are seniors who have lived big adventuresome lives on boats, on mountaintops, on islands, who have quietly and efficiently raised and educated families of 6 or 8 or 10 children, who were the first female PhD in their field or attorney in their graduating class, who have overcome tragedies and encounters with death, who have mingled with Presidents and heads of state, who have developed vaccines, led groundbreaking research and cured diseases, who have proudly led squadrons or served in them, who have freely shared their memories and their delight in living both simple and fabulous lives. How privileged I feel to do this work, to sit with these brilliant, accomplished, humble, courageous souls. In a day, I may meet three or four different amazing people who need our help and I go home heavy with their needs and inspired to bring them to a safer more comfortable next chapter.

The phrase “honoring aging” is such a wonderful way to look at the work that we do. First and foremost, we look at the person, who she is and the great life she has lived and is still living to bring her to a place where we can continue to honor her, in spite of memory loss and compromised mobility. Next, we look at what is important to her and make sure she can be surrounded by things that provide ease and joy. Finally, we make sure she knows that she is respected and appreciated.

As I have aged, I have begun to feel that invisibility so many speak of. We don’t turn heads anymore (fairly sure, I never did). We blend into a crowd and look like no one of significance to servers in restaurants and salespeople in stores. Yet, we silently carry with us the wisdom of the years and the experiences that have brought us to this place and time. The value of this wisdom is underestimated. Aging is a gift that many do not receive. So I am honoring today, the gift of aging that I have so graciously been granted and honoring the more than 1000 remarkable Customers who I have been gifted with meeting and learning about over the past 6 years. Cheers to the beginning of our 7th year in business and on to the next decade in my personal aging adventure!