My Mental versus my Chronological Age

Today I feel that my mind is still in my 40's but my body tells me I am over 75. Actually, I am 78 years old and 5 months as of today.

Aging is a natural process. But with a good diet and exercise, the aging process can be slowed down, I believe.

Last March, while I was still in Marinduque, I did " hands-on gardening" such as weeding, fertilizing and watering my plants. After 30 minutes of actual gardening that is fertilizing my more than 50 potted plants, my back started to ache. I had a hard time standing up. It ached so much that I have to take a pain killer( Celebrex).

This tells me I should do only gardening by mouth. I have one permanent gardener and two temporary helpers, especially if there is an event in the resort. However, there are times I like to do "hands-on" gardening since I really enjoy gardening and it is also my exercise.

However with regards to my mind, I still have a good memory. I could still remember the unit prices of all building materials, such as cement, tiles, hinges, hollow blocks etc., that I purchased last year. I STILL play duplicate bridge and still remember almost all the 52 cards based on the bidding. For those of you who do not play duplicate bridge, you only see 26 cards. The other half is hidden, but based on the bidding, and of your memory of how the bidding went and the discarded cards, you actually can guess the location of all the 52 cards. I am proud to say, my memory is still good.

But I noticed that my memory is not as good as when I was in high school. In high school, my teacher in world history wanted to give me 100, since all my tests were all 100, but the highest grade he could legally gave me was only 95. I had a photographic memory then. But today, that photographic memory is gone.

So my dear readers, can you tell me where to find the fountain of youth? Do you have a formula or a lifestyle that slow down the aging process? Do you believe that a good diet and daily exercises can slow down the aging process? I will be posting an article on the ten items I do rigorously to stay fit and healthy in the next couple of days. Watch for it and have a Good Day.