As the years pass by, Streaks of grey appear in her hair.
Eventually, they would all turn white. Her skin becomes less taut and wrinkles sets in because she had sun-bathed in her youth.

As the years pass by,
Her teeth become loose and are extracted 'cause she cannot bear the pain anymore.

As the years pass by,
Three of her five senses are faulty, She cannot distinguish the words you tell her.
The noise in her head is like a busy road.

As the years pass by,
She cannot perceive the perfume you wear, She cannot see clearly. So often she would ask, what letter of the alphabet is that?

As the years pass by,
Her immune system becomes less effective, She would complain of common cold because she finds it hard to shake off.

As the years pass by,
The strength in her leg is diminished, her muscles gradually weaken and she is unable to use the stairs on her own. And gently goes her steps lest she falls.

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Trails of the age. Most often than not, aged people face a lot of challenges that make life pretty uncomfortable for them. However, there are exceptions. Exceptions that are brought about by healthy habits in their youth.

People living young at old age do a couple of things. These things include;

Eating healthy.

Consuming fatty saturated stuff such as butter, cakes, pastries, and red meat is quite unneeded at this age. This does not mean you shouldn't take some cake but should make it at a considerable rate. What you should be taking should be diets that contain, fresh vegetables, fruits and other foods that provide fibre and vitamins to the body. Eating sensible means living 65+ sensibly.

Finding a passion

At this age, the most important things you could have going for you are your hobbies and passions. They help in keeping your brain stimulated and active and you seem to feel alive and full of energy. Although It is true that the older one gets, the greater the diminishing rate of the mental capacity. But this isn't true for all cases and is mostly noticed in people who have a record of some chronic illness, or who are alcoholic. So put yourself to the test,

find what you love doing and get on with it.

Regular exercising.

It doesn't have to be as rigourous as weightlifting, or boxing. Simple activities such as scaling the stairs a couple of times and walking a few metres of the neighbourhood would count. This is a wonderful way of keeping fit at this age, as you sweat you help detoxify and check your heartbeat. It is advised that, women should walk briskly for 20-30mins tops at least for 3 times a week. This time vary as you advance in age.

Quitting smoking

The habit of smoking even at an old age could be very detrimental to one's health. apart from the fact that it speeds up deteriortation of the lungs, that heart attack you've been hearing of could be lurking. The dangers of smoking far ourweighs whatever benefits or appeal it may hold. People who would be healthy at an old age wowuld cut doen the habit of somking earier on. However, the cravings might still linger for a while. Scientists have found thaat it's not just the smell and taste of tobacco that keeps people hooked to cigarettes, but oral fixation and the feeling of having something in your mouth does too. as such, there are alternatves like flavoured toothpicks, sugarfree gums and binging on dark chocolates (which raises the dopamine level pretty much like nocotine does) could just be the thing for you.

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Again, stay fit and healthy, be the best granparent a grandchild could ever ask for, and thank you for reading.

Blog contributor: @dazzy
Blog editor: @pangoli

^{This article is a contribution to the @onequality community-based magazine, as a support for planktons and minnows alike. If you would like to know more or be a part of the contributors, please refer to this post. Thank you.}