Arizona River Runners, our river outfitter, did an amazing job of sending out information to prepare us beforehand for our trip. Early on, I received the pamphlet, How to Prepare as a Senior Citizen! So I faithfully hiked around my island, did my squats so I could get up and down in the boat, and bought an expensive jar of CBD cream and a cheap bottle of Advil to soothe my aching muscles. I carefully scanned their website looking for pictures of people who looked as old as I am and were smiling. What Arizona River Runners failed to mention and prepare me for in all of their pre-trip literature was just how much fun I was going to have!!

Perhaps it is just me or maybe it is just an occupational hazard of growing old, but we do lose a little bit of our “plunge into a cold river and float around for a while” zest for living in the whole unraveling process! But, deep in our souls, we still desperately want to be young. We all want our twenty-year-old bodies back. We all want do-overs. What I did not know about our river trip was that our daily hikes would take us up magical slot canyons where warm water comes pouring out of rocks. What I found there, for a glorious week, was the mystical fountain of youth.

It didn’t hurt that I was traveling with my grandchildren. Hard to act too old and crotchety surrounded by the good sense of humor that accompanies the junior high and college years. Maybe a favorite moment was when a big wave knocked me off my feet, literally, and everyone saw me, feet straight up in the air, clinging to dear life, and they were laughing hysterically. For a moment, we were all in this giant, unpredictable ride of life together… and it was going to be a good one. I was the Nana of the trip to everyone in the boat. Everyone took such good care to make sure I got hauled up rocky trails and my camp was set up each night. But when everyone fell asleep, I looked at the stars and dreamed of the ghost of vacations past and felt some of the body aches slipping away. I lay on a cot under the stars and felt young again. (Hey, it was good CBD cream!)

Being back in Arizona, where I grew up, and where I have so many fond memories of my childhood, it is easy to feel youthful. The hot Arizona sun, the red rocks, the cactus, the tan river guides with their turquoise pendants, the optimism, the jokes, the talk and laughter around the fire about dating apps, college courses, and future dreams, the Spotify playlists of amazing music—all of it combines together to transport me to a more carefree time of life. It all becomes an elixir, taken daily to temper the pain of my advancing years.

In late January of this year, I made a page in my journal for the Year of the Snake, with the words, Shed, Renew, Rise. Coincidentally, I did this around the same time I received my “preparations for seniors” literature. As I type and look at the skin peeling from my feet this week (the only part of my body that got a serious sunburn), I smile. The Year of the Snake has allowed me to Shed, Renew, and Rise. I am grateful that in the same week I became Medicare eligible, I also took a plunge in an icy river and shed a few pounds of elderly! (I am also very thankful that no late-night bathroom runs had any year of the snakes crossing my path.

I am blessed to have good health still, but I think I will keep noticing other ways to maintain a bit of my high altitude breathing skills while living at sea level. Maybe just changing up my Spotify playlist will be a goal, or laughing uncontrollably when my feet get swept out from under me. And, I will start blogging once again “like it’s 1999!”