www.upworthy.com
Elderly people are asked their ‘favorite age of life,’ and their answers are truly beautiful
When we think back to what we might deem the best of times, at least in terms of age, the answers are multilayered and, of course, subjective. For some, it’s age five, when even the smallest dandelion seemed whimsical. For others, it’s freshman year of college, when we perhaps felt truly autonomous and ready for reinvention.
At the Carrington Court Assisted Living and Memory Care facility in Utah, elderly residents were asked the simple question: “What was your favorite age of life?” While The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” underscores the video, a handful of people give their unique answers. Many of them are downright surprising.
View this post on Instagram
In one clip shared on Instagram, we see senior citizens tackling the question. The caption reads, “You can still hit milestones at 93!” The first woman in the clip answers quickly. “25,” she says. She’s asked why, and she laughs while explaining, “My dad had bought me a new convertible car for my birthday. And I just drove it and drove it and drove it!”
We cut to the next resident, who answers, “About 63. Not too long ago, because I was looking forward to retiring.”
The next woman has a harder time making a choice. “I have so many,” she shares, “because my children have been very busy in their life and I’ve been busy in mine, and enjoyed what we were doing.”
View this post on Instagram
A man is asked, and he doesn’t have to think about it long. “Last year!” This is followed by the obvious question: “Last year? How old were you?” He vulnerably shares, “Oh my goodness. I don’t remember.” But when his memory is prompted, he remembers he’s now 94. He continues, “Last year. Because I had no interest in life until this wonderful woman here brought it back to me.” The camera then pans over to the woman who had answered 63. She chuckles lovingly while absorbing the compliment.
Another man who is asked the same question says, “My favorite year of life would have to be probably when I was 17 or 18, because I was able to win a contest on a project I had made on my own lathe or a project on my dad’s lathe. And it took first place.”
Other videos shared on their social media pages show residents being asked the same question, with various answers: “Hopscotch, true love, babies, childhood farms.” Whatever it was for each, it was tied to moments embedded in their memories that brought them pure bliss.
The comment section seems moved by their answers, with plenty of opinions of their own. Some share how they would have answered: “I’m gonna vote 63, although I’m not there yet.”
This person can’t decide: “Who can pick just one… first true loves, seeing bands and just livin’… then the kids come along, and is anything better? Then they’re gone, but you’ve got money and time, and still can party and have fun… and I’m supposed to pick one, no can do.”
A few offer success stories from people in their lives: “My widowed aunt got remarried at 94. She’s now 99.”
Another had a similar experience with a family member: “My Mom met the love of her life at 80 in her Assisted Living home. They loved life together for the rest of their lives.”
The truth is that well-being researchers have studied the topic of happiness for quite some time. The consensus, at least for a handful of people, seems to be that we’re happiest in our twenties, take a big dip in middle age, and rediscover happiness again in older age.
View this post on Instagram
This is known as the U-shaped happiness curve. While some dispute its accuracy and are quick to point out biases (as is often the case with studies), many take solace in the idea that there is always hope. And instead of thinking of “40” as “over the hill,” as it used to be so popular to claim, the idea that it’s actually uphill after—or at least could be—is promising.
Even just from the tiny sample received from the senior living home, it seems pretty clear: it’s not over till it’s over.
The post Elderly people are asked their ‘favorite age of life,’ and their answers are truly beautiful appeared first on Upworthy.