Baggy pants. Piercings. Loud music. You see teen-agers and wonder…what do I possibly have in common with them?

Answer: Almost everything.

“Young people might look a little different, but they want to hear from you and know what you’ve seen, done and heard in your life so they can learn and grow,” says geriatrician Francis Salerno, M.D., of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. “Once you realize age isn’t a barrier, you understand that your life experiences and wisdom can help guide younger generations.”

The concept is called “saging,” and it’s how younger people— children, grandchildren, neighbors and others—learn from your stories, everything from your first steps to your first crush. In his book From Age-ing to Sage-ing, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi explains the concept as a meaningful way to combat the negative aspects of growing older. By looking at your past as a “work in progress” and sharing the fruits of your life’s work with younger generations, Schachter-Shalomi says, you’re not being put on a shelf as you age. Instead, you are contributing to society in a vibrant, fulfilling way.

Whether your wisdom and experiences are shared through the written word (a journal or memoir), photos or verbal storytelling, saging keeps you connected. And studies show that older people who stay connected have less stress and stronger immune systems and will likely live longer than those who live in isolation.

“Both you and the person you’re saging reap the benefits,” Salerno says. “You’re imparting your knowledge to younger people, and you’re adding to your own sense of self-worth while keeping your mind sharp.”

Most often, saging occurs in families—grandparent to grandchild, for example. But it can happen throughout the community as well. Follow the lead of these local people who are saging every day—and enjoying every minute of it.

“You went fishing and milked cows…in New York City?”
It’s a response New York native Henry Acres often gets from his seven grandchildren, as they discover more about their grandfather’s rural-style childhood in an urban setting. A request from his own children three years ago led Henry, 76, and his wife, Irene, to write their autobiographies as a way of saging. Their writing brings together a geographically scattered family. (Acres, who now lives in Allentown, has children in New York, the Midwest and California.)

Acres is following the lead of those who saged him as a youth: the neighbor who shared stories during afternoon ballgames and the local minister who stopped by Acres’ boyhood home to chat. “I’ll never forget the wonderful feeling of being a young person in an adult conversation,” Acres says.

“I wanted to be just like her.”
That’s what Jeannie Metzger thought when she first met her “sage,” 67-year-old Carol Crugnale of Whitehall. “Carol is the nicest person I’ve ever known,” says Metzger, an Allentown resident.

The two met on a religious retreat. Soon after, Metzger joined the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Whitehall. There, Crugnale saged the entire group by expressing her faith in plain terms, explaining the church’s nuances and sharing inspirational messages.

Crugnale and Metzger now have extended their friendship beyond church. They’re in a book club together, share dinners and have many common friends. The best thing Crugnale has taught her friend: “That one kind word goes a long way,” Metzger says.

As for Crugnale, she’s learned how gratifying it is to be a sage. “I told my daughter that nobody comes to me for advice, and she laughed and said, ‘Mom, everybody comes to you for advice,’” Crugnale says. “I do like to listen and help people.”

“Grandma, what’s dorm life like?”
Whether it’s dinner and a movie with youngest granddaughter Mary or offering sage advice to older granddaughter Lisa, Ethel Tenges is ready to talk. “When Lisa asked about dorm life, I told her how much she’d love it, and I knew because I lived in a dorm when I went to nursing school,” says Tenges, 77, of Catasauqua. “I told her it’s like one big family.”

Tenges knows all about family. Growing up, hers was unique (her parents divorced when she was 6) but strong. “It was different from most families, but still wonderful,” she says. Through the years, she’s made many lifelong friends and developed an upbeat attitude that keeps her going despite serious kidney and heart ailments she’s suffered recently. And now she’s writing a journal to tell her tales of perseverance and inspiration to her grandchildren.

Her key message to youngsters: “Life is like a bank statement. Yesterday is like canceled checks; forget about them. Tomorrow is like promissory notes; don’t count on them. Today is cash; spend it wisely.”