December 23, 2011

Aging Gracefully with Enjoyment


This week's beauty is Bonnie Matheson who is about to turn 70. She is the author of Ahead of the Curve, which is an intimate conversation with women in the second half of life. Bonnie has a story to tell, and all sorts of steps for her audience to take towards a more enjoyable, fulfilling life. I look forward to reading her book.

In addition, Bonnie is a health and wellness coach, motivational speaker, mother, and grandmother. She was the executive director of the Institute for New Medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center and eighteen years ago became a doula. That was about the same time she caught her own grandchild in her hands when her daughter came home to have her baby. Several years later she started a website for women with information about pregnancy and birth called Childbirth Solutions.  To this day Bonnie strives to work towards better, more empowering births for women worldwide.

Bonnie says she is enjoying her “second fifty years” immensely and has this to share about growing older:

As I reached the age of 50 I began to think about how much I had accomplished in the first 50 years of my life. It turned out to be quite a lot. School, marriage, 5 children, real estate career and childbirth advocate, daughter, sister friend and volunteer as well as student of life. I decided right then that no matter how long it took I would go back to school to earn a BA and eventually maybe find time for a Ph D. It dawned on me that the years would pass whether I was in school or not, so why not just go and accomplish this goal. And I did it. Later I divorced amicably, started yet another career as a health coach and writer. The point is this. It is NEVER too late to change your life. We can remain young at heart, juicy, and healthy far into our 90s. My mother is 93 and going strong. She is happy and she is pretty. You can choose the way you age by choosing your attitude. This is entirely within your power to do starting right now. 

 I will be 70 in January and feel that I have many years ahead to do more of what I love. Even if something were to happen to me prematurely I FEEL as if I have a lot of time. And that is the important thing. Feeling good about aging and not letting it become a discouragement is key to enjoying every day.


Thank you Bonnie for being this week's beauty.

I love what you have to say on this video: