22 — Sunday, April 19, 1998 - North Shore News

Learning
from the
‘grownups’

Shetley Harrison Rae

Contributing Columnist

I'M middle aged. At
least I hope I am,
though at 46, I could
easily be more than
half way there.

Pve finally discovered the
answer to a portentous

. question ‘that has managed
to clude me for most of my
life: "What do I want to be
when I grow up?”

What an ominous deci-
sion!

The luxury of time and
choices made the pick so
difficult.

Regardiess of the many
different things I’ve donc
and worked at, I’ve never
been certain
about what I
really wanted
to eventually

Ironically,
my teenage
daughter was
indirectly -
instrumental in
my discovery.

Asacom:.
munity-minded
young woman,
she was asked
to help eur asa
facilitator. at-a‘:
May 1996°-
seniors foruhy:
at the Seycove -
Community
Centre.

I went along, strictly for
moral support, as she was a
bit intimidated at the
thought of being part of a
public arena.

Sitting there, still one of
the few in the crowd show-
ing just a hint of grey, feci-
ing almost like a kid again in
a room full of Grandmas
and Grandpas, | was soon
drawn out of my role of
observer and into the heart
of the discussions.

I began to hear the reali-
tics of facing life as an older
adult.

| Elegance
Personified

jos Burrardsat 2nd Aver

| iii

“Regardless of
_ “be” the many
different things
I’ve done and
worked at, I’ve
never been
‘certain about
what I really
~~ + wanted to
" eventually ‘be’.”

The people had come out
to brainstorm solutions ta
their present needs and the
needs thar would come to
fight (for many) in the very
near future.

Things like, transporta-
tion, housing, “wellness,”
personal rights, and simply a
safe place to be themselves
and enjoy each other's com-
pany.

Sharing information was
high on their list of priori-
ties and the need for a
newsletter came forward.

Before J knew it, | had
voluntecred to “help” write
their newsletter and the
dominoes started to fall?

Helping was out of the
question.

This was a brand new
idea and there
was no one to
help.
Suddenly, I
was the cre-
ator of a
newsletter for
Deep Cove
Seniors, won-
dering how to
report their
“news” while
not knowing
what it was!

T was intro-
duced to the
Seycove
Seniors
Advisory
Council, a
small repre-
sentative
group acting as a steering
committee for community
plans, needs, ete.

I decided I'd better start
attending their meetings,
finding out who they were
and what they were all
about.

The next thing I knew, I
was helping plan strategies
for a presentation to the dis-
trict council regarding their
need for a community cen-
tre with designated space for
seniors, designing posters
and badges, and helping cel-
ebrate birthdays.

What had [ gotten myself

into?

Nothing short of a com-
mitted, complement of peo-
ple full of energy, vitalicy
and power who were con-
firming their rightful places
in their own neighborhood.

By writing iheir newsler-
ter I helped them find their
voice and by adding short,
personal profiles, ve had
the chzace to share their
unique life stories that detail
the paths that have led them
to where they are today.

These “pioneers” are
forging the way for those of
us middle-agers who follow
in their wake.

Still looking to the
future, they are laying the
groundwork for a better
quality of later life. Getting
to know them is what
helped me with the answer
to my baffling question:
“What do I want to be
when I grow up?”...With
luck and good bealth, I
hope to become a senior.

— Shelley Harrison Rae is
a North Vancouver writer.

The North Shore News
requiarty allocates space for
reader input on a wide range
of community issues in the
forin of quest columns.

Lf you have a colunin
please send it c/o The Editor,
North Shore News, 1139
Lousdale Ave., North
Vancouver, V7M 2H4 or via
e-mail to trenshaw@direct.ca.
Subinissions must be typewrit-
ten and should be approxt-
mately 500 words.

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| INSTRUCTOR
Jack Yelf helps
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74,| with the details of
* finishing this
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Ada Leung
Pharmacist

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