Tell us what you’d like us to know about yourself:
I am Janny, 70 years old, married to Rein for centuries, mother of two lovely daughters and grandmother of two beautiful grandsons.
You are retired, can you tell us about how you spend your days?
My days can be very different depending on my mood. I love reading, doing puzzles, gardening, and cooking. And I like to visit beautiful cities and villages; I often go to open gardens, regularly visit the theater and cinema. Spending time with family. Have meetings with friends. I also regularly go to nice B&Bs with Rein. I am a member of two reading clubs and also a member of the Red Hat Society. And together with some lovely women, we organized a private English Conversation course. I’m so glad we can pick that all up again after the Covid period.
What is the best/worst thing about aging?
The best thing about getting older has been mentioned here many times: I am more confident in myself, and I care less about the opinion of others. I am no longer so impatient in many ways.
The worst thing about aging for me is the knowledge that I’ve already spent the longest time of my life.
What is the first thing you do in the morning to start your day in a positive way?
It’s a beautiful feeling that you can decide for yourself what time you want to wake up after your retirement, even though I never sleep very long. I always start my day with a large cup of black coffee and some collagen powder. And I prefer to start my day with the latest news.
How do you stay healthy? Both physically and mentally?
I must confess that I have hated sports all my life. Tried regularly and stopped regularly. So physically, I try to stay healthy by exercising at home, gardening, and walking.
Mentally: that is quite a loaded subject for me because everyone in the family I come from (father, mother, and two sisters) has become demented. Knowing that your genes are most important in this process sometimes makes me feel like the sword of Damocles is hanging over my head. So I do everything I can to keep my brain healthy.
What’s your fantasy version of your 80-year-old self?
I see myself doing and enjoying the same things as I do now. Maybe at a slower pace ? and perhaps we’ll spend some of our time in Australia, where my oldest daughter and her family live.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
I am happy that I managed to build a different, more beautiful, and positive life than my youth. And when I look at my two beautiful and sweet daughters, I often think YESS! (although I do realize that this is not only because of me).
Any regrets?
Not so much. Of course, there have been periods where I, thinking back, realize that I could have handled things better. But actually, I also learned from that.
Latest Google search?
Looked up the reviews of the movie Nomadland two days ago.
What’s your age, and how old do you feel?
I’m 70 years on the outside and 40 years on the inside. ?
