Happy "Older Americans Month" - Let's celebrate aging!

As I mentioned on yesterday's blog post there are a LOT of "Special Holidays" including "holidays" that last the whole month.  I had planned to continue my daily blogging habit and make this month be all about "healthy aging." As it turns out, there are a whole bunch of Monthly "themes" in May that are related to healthy aging - in particular: "Older Americans Month!"

I sort of wish it were called something a little more.. exciting(?) than "Older Americans Month" because I think there's quite a bit of stigma around being "older."  How old is "older" anyway? No matter how old we are, we think of "older" as "older" than we are!   

That will be the topic of my blog post tomorrow: How Old is Older?

I've really been thinking (and reading) about how here in America, we really have to re-brand the idea of "old" to be something wise, cool and Bold!  How we view growing older will make a huge difference in whether we dread each birthday or happily celebrate!  

Well, it appears that Older Americans Month is a step towards changing that stigma associated with being an "older" American!

(OAM 2021) includes a proclamation from the White House! This is not just some made-up holiday by a random Older American who wants to celebrate (though nothing wrong with that, ahem.. see CarpeDiemDay.com). This holiday has a proclamation by the President of the United States! (I'm going to have to recruit President Biden to join my Carpe Diem Connections Facebook group!)

  The proclamation starts:

During Older Americans Month, we celebrate older Americans and the key role they play in sharing the wisdom and experience that inform today’s decisions and actions, and fostering the connection and engagement that build strong, resilient communities.  And, we recognize our responsibility to ensure that every American has the opportunity to age with dignity.

The OAM 2021 Website states that the theme for 2021 is "Communities of Strength."  It especially notes the power of connection and engagement in building strong communities and encourages us all to share our stories:

From finding joy in small things and sharing our stories, to looking at the big picture and giving to others, join us in promoting the ways we are connected and strong.

I am SO jumping on this bandwagon!

Check out the other Monthly Holidays for May! I'm going to highlight the ones that have to do with Healthy Aging to give me additional ideas for a fun-filled May lineup.  By the end of the month, I'll have enough material for a whole eBook for "BOlder Older Youthful Americans!"  BOOYA!

• American Cheese Month
• American Wetlands Month
• Arthritis Awareness Month
• Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
• Asthma Awareness Month
• Awareness of Medical Orphans Month
  
• Be Kind to Animals Month
• Better Hearing and Speech Month
• Better Sleep Month
• Breath Easy Month
• Chip Your Pet Month
• Clean Air Month
  
• Correct Posture Month
• Deck Safety Month
• Digestive Diseases Awareness Month
• Electromagnetic Radiation Awareness Month
• Employee Health & Fitness Month
  
• Family Wellness Month
• Fibromyalgia Education and Awareness Month
• Food Allergy Awareness Month
• Fungal Infection Awareness Month
• Gardening for Wildlife Month
• Get Caught Reading Month
• Gifts from the Garden Month
• Global Employee Health and Fitness Month
  
• Global Youth Traffic Safety Month
• Haitian Heritage Month
• Heal the Children Month
• Healthy Vision Month/UV Safety
  
• High Blood Pressure Awareness Month
• Home Schooling Awareness Month
• Huntington's Disease Awareness Month
  
• International Business Image Improvement Month
• International Civility Awareness Month
• International Drum Month
• International Internal Audit Awareness Month
• International Respect for Chickens Month
• International Victorious Woman Month
  
• Internet and E-Commerce Services Month
• Jewish American Heritage Month
• Labor History Month
• Latino Books Month
• Lupus Awareness Month
  
• Lyme Disease Awareness Month
• MCS Awareness Month
• Melanoma / Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month
• Mental Health Month
• Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month
  
• National Asparagus Month
• National Allergy and Asthma Awareness Month
  
• National Barbeque Month
• National Bicycle Safety Month
• National Celiac Disease Awareness Month
  
• National Chocolate Custard Month
  
• National Comfort Month
• National Community Action Month
• National Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month
• National Date Your Mate Month
• National Duckling Month
  
• National Egg Month
• National Family Month (May 13 - June 17)
• National Foster Care Month
• National Gazpacho Aficionado Month
• National Good Car-Keeping Month
  
• National Guy Pride Month
• National Hamburger Month
• National Hepatitis Awareness Month
  
• National High Blood Pressure Education Month
• National Inventors Month
• National Kite Month - March 28 - May 3, 2016
• National Meditation Month
  
• National Mediterranean Diet Month
• National Mental Health Month
  
• National Military Appreciation Month
• National Moving Month
• National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month
• National Pet Month
  
• National Photo Month
• National Physical Fitness and Sports Month
• National Preservation Month
  
• National Prom Graduation Safety Month
• National Recommitment Month
• National Salad Month
• National Salsa Month
• National San Architect Month
• National Service Dog Eye Examination Month
  
• National Sight-Saving Month
• National Smile Month
  
• National Strawberry Month
• National Stroke Awareness Month
• National Sweet Vidalia Onion Month
• National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month
  
• National Teen Self-Esteem Month
• National Toxic Encephalopathy and Chemical Injury Awareness Month
• National Tuberous Scierosis Awareness Month
  
• National Vinegar Month
• National Youth Traffic Safety Month
  
• Necrotizing Fasciitis Awareness Month
• Neurofibromatosis Month
• Older Americans Month
• Personal History Awareness Month
• Posture Month
• Prepare Tomorrow's Parents Month - May 9 - June 20, 2021 (From Mother's Day to Father's Day)
• REACT Month
• Revise Your Work Schedule Month
• Small Business Month
• Spiritual Literacy Month
• Steelmark Month
• Strike Out Strokes Month
• Syringomyelia Awareness Month
• Teen CEO Month
• Tennis Month
  
• Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month 
• Trauma Awareness Month
  
• Ultraviolet Awareness Month
• Women's Health Care Month
• Young Achievers / Leaders of Tomorrow Month