Yes, it's great to be a senior, senior citizen, that is! If you are like I am, I'm surprised to be alive at this age which is my mid 70's. Very few of my immediate family members have made it this far. My mother lived to be 79, but my father and brother died of massive heart attacks at ages 56 and 41 and my sister passed on from cancer and age 33.

So you can see how surprised and grateful I am to be among the living.

I really enjoy being this age. Being retired believe it or not, I am busier than I ever was. I exercise at least five times a week, eat relatively healthy foods, do not smoke which may explain why I have lived this long despite my family history.

I want this article to discuss as many senior related topics as possible. Everything from health to lifestyles, hobbies, books, movies, travel and anything else that affects seniors. Let's not forget ways seniors can supplement their income, such as writing articles, starting a blog, etc. I am not an expert, but I can point you to someone who is.

Why am I so busy? In addition to working out at least five times a week, I am active at my local senior center. I am a member of a play readers group that puts on plays twice a year. I also play piano and keyboard and I give lessons at the center, I give private piano lessons. I also play at other senior centers, nursing homes and restaurants. Not only am I busy, but I am doing things that I enjoy doing.

I thought giving piano lessons to seniors would be a challenge since I cannot read music per se but only fake books (sheet music that only lists the treble clef or right hand notes, and chords for the left hand). This proved to be a plus, I have students learning like I did and playing songs with both hands after only three lessons. Remarkable!

So, I am dedicated to enjoying life as long as I can. Don't waste your time doing nothing. Get involved. Volunteer. Do something you always wanted to do. This is a guaranteed formula for happiness.

I want this article to be springboard for all topics related to senior living. I want to hear from everyone who has an opinion or an idea to improve life as we grow older. Who knew it would be this much fun?

Learning the piano has improved the minds of those taking lessons by challenging them to learn something new. It also has improved the hand-eye coordination of my students. I have a bit of arthritis in my hands. I know that playing the piano has lessened the effect of arthritis.

I mention this because my next article will be on arthritis. Stay tuned!