As you may have heard, actress Estelle Getty passed away earlier this week at the age of 84 from advanced Lewy Body Dementia.  Estelle was most widely known for her role as "Sophia" on the TV show The Golden Girls.  I remember watching that show when I was younger and even to this day, I continue to watch re-runs on TV....they still crack me up!  Sophia was the quick-witted, humorous 80-something golden girl.  She and 3 other ladies all lived together in a house in Miami.  I feel the show really did justice to the older adult population.  They showed independent women who were active in the community, had jobs, had a love life, and leaned on each other for support.  There are still stigmas today about older people like "they're bad drivers", "they're grouchy all the time", and "they don't have sex".  And, with a society trying so hard to not age, overcoming those stigmas becomes challenging.  However, I do feel that those stigmas are diminishing.  Even though The Golden Girls was filmed in the late 80s and 90s, what those ladies portrayed then is still real today.  The Baby Boomers today are active both physically and socially and are independent people who plan for the future.  As the years go on, the aging population will continue to grow and currently the number of people entering the workforce to work in geriatrics is not increasing.  I have always told my social work students to spend extra time with your grandparents and with their friends, or volunteer at an assisted living facility or nursing home.  Get to know these people- they have had very interesting lives and still enjoy life and activities that make them happy.  Some of my past patients and clients have made me a better person.  I will always work with this population, they are my passion.  As a nation, they are our future. 
Estelle was once asked in an interview what was the one thing that makes a person age well.  She simply stated humor...you have to have humor.