On Getting Older

It is with some trepidation that I approach another milestone: SEVENTY years old! How did I get here so fast? It doesn’t feel that long ago, that I was a healthy, strong and virile dancer with few worries other than the next part I would dance.

The other day I re-wrote my LinkedIn profile since my professional life had changed. I emphasized the point that I have had two 25-year careers, one in the performing arts and one in the “real” world. FIFTY years of tough, fascinating and rewarding work. What happened to that teenager that took his first ballet class in Slikkerveer (The Netherlands) in a ballroom dance studio on a slippery floor?

Marilyn and I just completed a major move, coupled with a dramatic life-style change —from big city Toronto, ON to small town Sidney, BC. Looking back on a year of planning, packing, selling, buying, shipping, unpacking and settling down, it all went more smoothly than we could have hoped for. (Specifically considering that the last six months we also had to deal with Covid-19)

But boy, were we tired! It’s taken us some eight weeks to recover and our bodies and minds have been protesting loudly. I can’t remember being this tired and stressed-out during our previous “big moves” from The Hague to Winnipeg in June 1977 and from Winnipeg to Toronto in November 1986.

Does my age have something to do with that you think?

During those 50 years I had a rewarding dance career with prominent companies on two continents, I built a thriving small business that now operates on its own, I married Marilyn more than 44 years ago and we have a beautiful daughter, a gorgeous granddaughter and friends all over the world. Not much to complain about!

In some ways I love getting older: more experience, a better understanding of people, life and the world around me, less worries about what other people think about me and I definitely am not chasing the latest trend or gadget anymore (I never did).

Our generation has seen dramatic changes in communication technology, from the rotary phone to Zoom calls, from vintage tube radios to screens everywhere with the latest breaking news. It’s hard to imagine being able to live 3000 km away from my business and my closest family, without being able to talk, chat, email, Skype for minimal cost. How times have changed!

Still, getting older is not all that much fun. Specially the slow deterioration of my body. I suspect, I am somewhat sensitive after the first 25-year part of my professional career surrounded by healthy, young, spectacular bodies. I will continue to fight the slow decline, but living in a small “retirement” town, I am reminded daily of a future with mobility scooters and canes, more hearing aid stores than bakeries and every imaginable service for seniors.

What’s the plan Joost? Just Keep On Moving Forward! Watch what you eat, exercise, go whale watching, call the friends you haven’t spoken to for decades, take Libby for walks along the water and stare at the sunset with Marilyn. Talk to you again when I turn EIGHTY!