Some seniors are toasting in the New Year with some of their wishes.

With the New Year around the corner, Ageless Online asks some seniors what their wishes are for 2014:

“As one of the foremost and leading ukulele players in Singapore today with 50 years’ experience, my biggest wish is for more people – children, teens and especially older seniors to take up playing ukulele. Hopefully, I can find five good ukulele disciples who are willing to come under my personal coaching and master the very best in ukulele playing, technique, style and a tonne of other useful stuff. 

I will continue to be actively engaged in sporting exercises regularly and to be a good role model for health and fitness, IT and an active ageing ambassador.” – Dick Yip (Unk Dicko), 66, retired but staying active as an education trainer and facilitator, and a master ukulele coach.

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“I hope that it will be a peaceful year with people more content with what they have.” – Marie-Louise Ansak, 85, retired, heading back to the US in the New Year to see if there are solutions to her knee problem.

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“I am a cancer survivor – I had stomach cancer in 1998 so everyday is a bonus for me. For my New Year’s wish, I wish I will be able to continue to do the things I want to do. I wish people around me will be happy and healthy. These are two things money cannot buy. Bonding with my family is very important to me. Without this, many things would not work. I hope to do this in the New Year as I have done every year for over 20 years – have a family holiday – either long or short. It is a commitment I have made to my family. No phone calls during the holiday and just to bond with them.” – Thomas Lim, 60, retired but keeping busy as a freelance tourist guide, amateur actor and grassroots member.

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“I wish more people will be able to truly enjoy greater health. When I see many sickly people walking around with all kinds of disability – be it a stroke, Parkinson’s disease or pain – I have this burning desire to help them overcome their health challenges! Personally I enjoy good health. In fact, optimal health. And everyone can also have optimal health, with no disease or a life-threatening issue. As we grow old, this becomes a real challenge. But it is achievable by simply changing one’s lifestyle and poor eating habits. My wish is that they take better care of themselves. Be proactive TODAY and you too can achieve optimal health! May you have the best of health! – Carl Lang, 59, is semi-retired but still very alive and kicking … living life to the fullest (just like an 18-year-old kid)!

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“As I approach my 60th year of existence in 2015, I can’t help but be amazed at how fast time has passed. Some of us recently got together to celebrate the 40th anniversary of our ‘A’ level cohort – we were all thinking the same thing – where did the last four decades go? More significantly, many of my old friends are, to put it nicely, carrying around more body weight than they should! With the abundance and availability of tasty (but alas, unhealthy) local food in Singapore, this is understandable. So I found myself counselling them about the importance of health in our lives, and so my fervent wish for the New Year is for my dear friends to adopt a more active and healthy (eating) lifestyle so that we can all be around to enjoy our twilight years together!” – Nigel Yeo, 58, an executive director with a private investment firm, which “thankfully keeps me engaged in business and yet allows me flexibility of time to pursue other lifestyle interests”.

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(** PHOTO CREDIT: Glass with red drink, knsart, stock.xchng)

 

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