My 89 year old Dad got beat by a younger team of 70 year olds.

Dad called me today. His team, Ponza United got bested by Denver at the Florida classic. He said Denver had lots of people on the young side and “They could run”

Genetics definitely play a role in his continued ability to compete (Thanks again Mom for my celiac and asthma!) but he was a lifelong advocate of never missing a game. From the time I was young he trained multiple times a week and I even remember an argument when my sister wanted to get married on game day. His priority was to maintain a lifelong habit of training, and I watched that habit become stronger through the decades.

With this context, Kate Gregory’s talk on ‘The Aging Programmer’ really landed for me. (slides here)

She talks about what you can do in your 20s, 40s and 50s to prepare to be active in your career in your 70s and how to avoid discrimination on both sides. I have no memory of my dad starting to exercise, and I hope my kids have no memory of when I “started” to learn. It’s just something that we do.

There is so much wisdom packed in here it’s hard to decide what to pull out, but I liked this quote:

“At my age… people often ask me if I’m passing the torch. I explain that I’m keeping my torch, thank you very much – and I’m using it to light the torches of others.”
—Gloria Steinem

I highly recommend everyone watch her presentation. Remember the old person you help may be future you!

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