“Despite slowing down, I’m still capable” - International Day of Older Persons
For International Day of Older Persons on October 1, Balwyn Evergreen client Jan Basso shares the everyday pleasures that keep her moving, connected, and looking forward to the future.
Jan Basso begins many mornings in the garden. She has always loved it and tries to spend at least an hour outside each day. At 76, she knows some things take a little longer than they once did. What matters to her is getting up and being able to do what she needs to do.
“Despite slowing down, I’m still capable,” Jan says.
It is a quietly confident way of looking at life, shaped in part by the years she spent caring for her mother. When Jan faces a challenge, she sometimes asks herself, “What would Mum do?” She remembers how her mother managed and draws encouragement from her example.
Jan and her husband John have been married for 57 years. Their two daughters and four grandchildren, now young adults, are at the centre of their lives. Hearing what the grandchildren are doing and talking with them about their lives brings Jan particular joy.
“First and foremost, our children and grandchildren make me happy,” Jan says.
Jan hopes she and John can enjoy good health for as long as possible. She keeps an eye on her blood pressure and cholesterol and makes regular movement part of her week.
For more than two years, she has attended a Tuesday Strength and Balance exercise class at Balwyn Evergreen. She enjoys the feeling of having worked her whole body, from head to toe.
The class is also an opportunity to see familiar faces. Jan has always been outgoing, and Balwyn Evergreen’s Outings Program has given her more opportunities to make friends. She enjoys a chat and is keen to discover somewhere different, whether that means a trip to Geelong, to have lunch at the local RSL and spend time at the Geelong foreshore. She is already looking forward to a tour of the MCG.
For Jan, those friendships add something valuable to the week. An outing is more enjoyable when there are people to share it with and a conversation can carry on long after everyone has gone home.
Her advice to others is to start with doing what you can manage. Exercise, she says, can take any shape, and it is worth doing whatever feels possible on the day. She also tries to keep a positive outlook, even when life gives her reasons to feel otherwise.
And she recommends something simple that has always come naturally to her: saying hello.
“Walk the streets and say hello,” Jan says. “It might end up with a small conversation.”
Jan’s daughters tell her and John they are doing very well. Jan is glad to hear it, though she measures a good day in smaller ways: time among her plants, the satisfaction of her Tuesday exercise class, news from her grandchildren and the pleasure of meeting a friend for a friendly chat.
