I was at the mandatory health check proceeding the signing of my contract. In Poland, health insurance is primarily associated with your place of work, so before signing a contract, the employer needs a general health assessment of the future employee. We had gone over my medical story, checked lungs, heart, and pulse (yes, I DO have one!). Everything was in brilliant order.
Back in Denmark, yoga would be considered not only a 'mind thing', but certainly also a way to strengthen your body. I've only tried it out a few times - but chose the more loner-friendly activity of individual fitness & weight lifting as my reluctant excercise. The Polish doctor was relieved to hear that I ride my bike, climb the stairs to the 4th floor, and abstain from smoking. The solid pillars of a decent and healthy life, it seemed. My regular GP would consider this level of activity lazy, a health liability, and far too little to expect for an otherwise healthy person my age.
Not only am I fit as a fiddle, I'm also the perfect age ... well, at least if you contemplate the alternative.
Nevertheless, in Poland the perception of age seems different from what I'm used to. My young landlady was perhaps under the influence of the information that I have grandchildren, when she - concerned about my future well-being - wanted to know if I were aware of the lack of lift in the building. When I confirmed, she added "but it may be hard ... carrying groceries and all." I assured her, she needn't worry. The only day the stairs were too high and too many was the day I moved in. But otherwise? No problem.
All my life I've seen my peers go out of their way to not conform with the expectations of a 40, 50, 60, or 70 year old. They've managed to keep their generation en vogue no matter how old they were. Climbing mountains at 60, taking a younger lover, having children at 40. Or as I - move abroad to outlive a vision of a different work life - despite af being a granny.
No one puts this generation in a corner.
