Growing old is a process in life that, if lucky, we will all get to experience. But it has been a growing concern in our culture that our senior citizens get forgotten. Families move away, spouses pass away and our elders just seem to be dismissed. However, for Doug Don, although in his eighties, he plans on making sure that the seniors in his community are not forgot and actually have some fun.
Doug Don has lived in his Langdon home for four years, prior to that he lived just outside Langdon for over twenty years. During that time he has seen the world around him grow and change but he has built some great friendships.
Recently, Doug lost the love of his life and he found himself very much pulling away from his friends and community. With Doug’s love of pottery he focused a lot of his time to that and slowly began to notice though that something was missing in his life.
This is the case for many of our seniors. Just because they are a little more grey or move a little slower than some of us…..by no means that they are done living and it is extremely important for their physical, emotional and mental wellbeing that they get out and socialize.
So, Doug has created the Langdon O.K. (Older Kids) Club. A group meant for fun, games, and activities for the over 55 crowd….. and like the name suggests… this is a group meant for the ‘older kids’ of the community.
The Alberta Government reports that as of March 2011, there were about 410,000 seniors in Alberta but by 2031, when the last of the baby boomers reach 65 years of age, it is projected that there will be more than 923,000 seniors – meaning about one in five Albertans will be a senior.
“An aging population will have profound and lasting economic and social implications for our province, leading to opportunities and challenges across a wide range of areas. Responding to these opportunities and challenges will require the involvement of a variety of partners in areas such as finance, transportation, housing, health, infrastructure, municipal affairs, community services, public safety and others. It will require action on the part of governments, the private and non-profit sectors, communities, families and individuals”.
One of the biggest struggles of senior socialization is mobility. Often, seniors in smaller or rural areas are left with trying to find transportation into a neighbouring and often larger municipalities to join social groups or participate in exercise classes. But what is now being seen in our society is rather than those precious elderly members of our community waiting for these programs and groups to come to them – they are making their own.
This is exactly what Doug Don had in mind when he came up with the idea of the Langdon O.K. Club. He had the idea but then found like-minded friends and neighbours that were also feeling a need for some socialization in their lives. They formed an executive committee and have begun planning their upcoming events.
First on the list is starting January 12th, and running every Tuesday and Thursday for 12 weeks is their exercise and balance classes. This is an easy paced exercise program and after each class there is a coffee and social time. These classes cost $20 for twenty four sessions and will be held at the IOOF Hall. To register, please contact Julie Meir at 403-703-6417
For more information on the Langdon O.K. Club or to find out about joining, you can contact Doug Don at 403-936-0075 or langdonokclub@gmail.com
