New Age

One of the thorniest questions that intrigued my daughter, when I borrowed the picture book Die neue Omi by Elisabeth Steinkellner, is the book's title.

My daughter didn't expect the title, which is translated as "my new grandma." That's a bit tricky - that grandma in her 80s is getting dementia. She forgets the way to take bath, not to mention the know-how of cooking. The theme is among a growing number of children books trying to guide the kids living with their forgetful grandparents.

My daughter will face an even greater grandparent gap, I was reminded by the Time magazine columnist Susanna Schrobsdorff. She was almost 39 when she had her child. Me too. If Schrobsdorff's daughter has a child at the same age, she'll be over 80 when that grandchild enters pre-kindergarten.

My unease doubled after I'd read the special health double issue of Time magazine. The baby in the recent magazine front cover was predicted to live to be 142 years old. That means our lives are getting longer. With that trend of longevity, alas, I'm going to live till 100.

Try as you might, it's very hard to take the news with aplomb. Even as we look forward to more years ahead, the idea of becoming a centenarian is not as funny as we might wish. At least three things dwindle as our body ages: our wallet, hard disc memory space, and muscle mass.

Think of the pectoral muscles that are going to sink with age. Gosh. I was also told that men tend to be less flexible and carry more abdominal weight (which can strain the lower back). The new age is worth preparation. And prepare I did, doing push-up and superman exercise every night since this week.