By Peggy Sue McRae, Journal contributor.

One constant in life is change. It can be as subtle and consistent as one season following another or as drastic and unexpected as a hurricane. When I learned that the San Juan Island Update had abruptly stopped publication my column, Island Senior, seemed tossed into the air.

I am happy as a clam to now be contributing to the Journal of the San Juans. I began writing Island Senior in 2016 to inform islanders about goings on at the Mullis Center mirroring the center’s mission statement that reads, “The Mission Statement of the Mullis Community Senior Center is to meet the recreational, intellectual, social, physical, and mental needs of seniors and disabled adults through advocacy, programs, and services so that people can live and age well on San Juan Island.”

To serve this mission I write about what is going on at the Mullis Center, I explore the variety of programs and activities available, the center’s interactions and collaborations with the broader community, senior health issues both physical and mental, current topics of interest to seniors, celebrations and recipes, and every once in awhile local history including the history of the Mullis family.

I was seven years younger than I am now when I started writing Island Senior. I’d just gotten my Medicare card and called myself a card-carrying senior.

As a senior striving to “live and age well on San Juan Island” I share my own experiences dealing with the relentless process of aging both the good stuff and the difficult.

Aging has its challenges and yet we got here by staying alive. You could say we are ahead of the game.

As Island Senior steps into a new year in a new setting I look forward to what changes this new year may bring.

One thing about aging is, we are not going through it alone. The process is universal. Our friends are right beside us on this journey. Here on San Juan Island, we are aging with the very best camaraderie, we are surrounded by extraordinary natural beauty, and we have a senior center that is a bright and vital part of our community.

I look forward to sharing my golden years here with you.