Aging is an honor

Published 1:30 am Thursday, July 9, 2026

ONE THING I didn’t expect when I accepted the opportunity to manage the Port Angeles Senior & Community Center for the city of Port Angeles was that I would be given a backstage pass into the world of aging.

Every day, I have the privilege of sitting down with people who have lived extraordinary lives. I’ve heard stories of childhoods spent on farms and homesteads, military service around the world, careers that shaped our community, epic adventures, lifelong friendships, once-in-a-lifetime love stories, heartbreaking losses and moments of resilience that still leave me speechless.

I’ve come to realize that every wrinkle has a story behind it. Every scar tells of a life that kept moving forward. Every gray hair represents another year someone was fortunate enough to experience.

Perhaps the biggest surprise has been discovering that age doesn’t define us nearly as much as we think it does. Some of my favorite conversations happen when I invite someone to become a member of the Senior & Community Center.

Membership begins at age 45, and the responses always make me smile.

Some people in their 70s laugh and tell me, “Oh, I’m not old enough to join the center.” Others walk through our doors on their 45th birthday, excited to celebrate and receive their membership card.

Before I started this job, I’ll admit I had my own assumptions about what a senior center looked like.

I imagined quiet hallways, people passing time and rocking chairs. Then I walked through the front doors.

The building was bright and welcoming. People were laughing. The aroma of fresh coffee drifted through the lounge. Friends greeted one another with hugs. Someone was winning, or at least claiming to win, a game of pinochle. Pickleball players compared paddles while others gathered over coffee, solving the world’s problems one conversation at a time.

I remember thinking, this isn’t what I expected at all.

This isn’t a place where people grow old. It’s a place where people come to keep living.

Research consistently shows us that social connection is one of the strongest predictors of healthy aging.

Staying active, continuing to learn, volunteering, sharing meals, laughing with friends and having a sense of purpose all contribute to healthier, happier lives.

I see that happen here every single day.

People come to exercise, attend presentations, learn a new hobby, volunteer, browse the Port Angeles Food Bank’s Mobile Market, ask advice from peers who have “been there” or simply enjoy lunch with someone who notices when they don’t show up.

No one should have to age in isolation. Connection isn’t just nice to have, it’s essential.

Working here has also changed my own relationship with aging.

Not long ago, I was sitting in my optometrist’s office when she gently explained that my eyesight was changing. She softened her voice as she talked about “midlife” and how this happens as we get older. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s OK,” I told her. “You don’t have to dance around it. I just want to be able to see.”

The truth is that aging doesn’t offend me anymore. In fact, I’ve come to see it as a badge of honor. There are so many people who never had the opportunity to watch their hair turn gray, earn laugh lines from decades of joy or collect scars from adventures and surgeries that helped them heal and keep moving.

The goal isn’t to stay young forever. The goal is to keep living fully for as long as we’re fortunate enough to be here.

Growing older is one of life’s greatest privileges, because not everyone is given the chance. Every birthday is another chapter. Every season brings new opportunities to learn, laugh, serve and connect. Our stories continue to unfold for as long as we choose to keep writing them.

That’s exactly what I see every day at the Port Angeles Senior & Community Center.

It’s not people winding down, it’s people beginning new friendships, learning new skills, volunteering, traveling, laughing, supporting one another through life’s highs and lows, and thriving.

Whether you’re 45 and wondering if you’re “old enough” to join us, 65 and busier than ever, or 85 and still discovering new adventures, my hope is the same — keep showing up.

Keep nurturing your friendships. Keep saying yes to hobbies that bring you joy. Keep learning something new. Keep moving your body, sharing your wisdom and leaning into the years you’ve been given.

If you’ve never stepped through our doors because you thought a senior center wasn’t for you, I invite you to come see it for yourself. You might just discover what I did. This isn’t a place where people grow old. It’s a place where people come to keep living.

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Carmen Geyer is the Senior and Community Center manager, city of Port Angeles.