The Joy of Aging: Why Older Doesn't Mean Worse

Most Americans blindly accept the idea that newer is automatically better. But a human life contradicts this premise. There is a great deal of happiness to be found as we grow older. My own parents, now in their sixties, recently told me that they are happier now than they have ever been. They would not want to be my age. Did this surprise me? At first, yes. Then it gladdened me. Their contentment holds out great promise for me as I move into the next - perhaps even better - phase of my life.

'Most Americans blindly accept the idea that newer is automatically better' - This is a complex sentence with a subordinate clause 'that newer is automatically better' modifying the noun 'idea'. The subject of the main clause is 'Most Americans' and the verb is 'accept'.

'But a human life contradicts this premise' - This is a simple sentence with the subject 'a human life' and the verb 'contradicts'.

'There is a great deal of happiness to be found as we grow older' - This is a simple sentence with the subject 'there' and the verb 'is', with a noun phrase 'a great deal of happiness' as the complement. The subordinate clause 'as we grow older' acts as an adverbial of time.

'My own parents, now in their sixties, recently told me that they are happier now than they have ever been' - This is a complex sentence with a main clause 'My own parents recently told me' and a subordinate clause 'that they are happier now than they have ever been' acting as the direct object. The phrase 'now in their sixties' provides additional information about the subject 'my own parents'.

'They would not want to be my age' - This is a simple sentence with the subject 'they' and the verb 'would not want', with the noun phrase 'to be my age' as the complement.

'Did this surprise me? At first, yes. Then it gladdened me' - This is a complex sentence with a main clause 'Did this surprise me?' and two subordinate clauses 'At first, yes' and 'Then it gladdened me' acting as adverbials of time.