Two Age Questions

[imoldernu]

How old do you think you'll get to be?


What age would you like to reach?

 

[mountainsoft]

Since I was a kid I thought I would live to be 72. I have no idea where I came up with that number, but it has stuck with me through most of my life. Of course, now that I'm 55 that 72 age seems awfully young so I hope I live longer than that.

I don't really have an age I hope to live to, hopefully into my 80's at least. More important to me is being able to enjoy living till the end. I would hate to spend my last 10-15 years battling some illness, or feeling so bad I regret waking up each day.

 

[Scuba]

I have no idea how long I’ll live. My dad lived to 86, my mom 76 and my eldest sister only 59. Mom and sister were heavy smokers and died of lung cancer and COPD/emphysema respectively. I’ve never been a smoker so their longevity isn’t a good indication of mine. I just try to live a healthy lifestyle as best I can.

I would like to live only as long as I have a good quality of life. For me this means cognitive ability, mobility, and at least some people/relationships that are important to me. I hope that by the time I reach an advanced age, there will be more individual freedom to make end of life choices. A friend who is 90 told me she’s been ready to go for a couple of years now. She is still in decent physical health with no serious chronic conditions, but she says she is in pain every day and can’t see or hear that well. Her husband and close friends are all gone. If I’m ever in that situation, or worse, sitting in a wheel chair vegging out in dementia care or a nursing home, I’d rather not continue with that life. OTOH, if I can be in good mental and physical health, be with my DH who is also in a similar condition, and we are taking a global cruise together at age 100, that would be wonderful!

 

[Sojourner]

The question brings to mind that old maxim: "Old age is where everyone wants to get, but nobody wants to be."

Having observed my older relatives throughout my life, I feel like I can safely say that living into my nineties is not something I particularly want. It's very rare, from what I've seen, to have a high (or even "good") quality of life at that age... although there are certainly exceptions. Given the fairly rapid decline I've seen of most relatives after the age of 80-85, I don't think I'd be interested or would go to great lengths to live much beyond that.

 

[athena53]

I'm also not interested in living into my 90s although it's possible given my family history. My great-grandmother died at 93 only a few days after entering a nursing home; she'd lived in hor own house till then (with plenty of support for nearby family). Amazing that she'd never had a Pap smear or monitored her cholesterol level. My Grandfather, her son, lived till he was 95 even though he'd smoked most of his life. His last letter to me before he died ended with, "PS- There is such as thing as living too long".

My financial planning goes out to age 95 (with plenty of funds left) but if I exit this world in my late 80s that would be OK with me.

 

[Carpediem]

My DF died just before his 92nd birthday and DM will turn 89 in May. Mom is still sharp and goes out everyday for the senior breakfast. I've always figured I'd live to around 90. As long as I still have a sharp mind like DM and can still go out occasionally, 90 sounds okay to me.

 

[kimcdougc]

I have been giving this topic some thought today since I just turned 59. DM died with dementia at 85. DF died at 54 because he was an alcoholic and he had had 3 heart attacks. DB died at 63, he was a Vietnam vet and fell down the stairs because he took too many pills give to him by the VA. Who knows how long I will be around. 85 to 90 sounds good with quality of life.

 

[W2R]

How old do you think you'll get to be?

Probably around 85. Or, so the longevity tables seem to indicate.

I have extreme longevity in my family, with several living to over 100, but that's no guarantee.

What age would you like to reach?

The oldest person who ever lived, was apparently Jeanne Calment, who died at age 122.

So, I'd like to live to at least 123. See, the thing is, I really, REALLY love my life and I am having so much fun these days. I want as much of it as I can possibly get.

 

[vrijheid]

No set age in mind but I would like to live only as long as my mind and body are able to function well. I have taken care of my in laws who suffered through Alzheimer’s and dementia far too long.

My father only lived to 68 but his mother lived to 102 in fairly good physical shape and a very sharp mind. But she was very lonely as her family and friends passed away.

My mother just turned 83 and she amazes me with her energy. Still lives in her own home and takes care of the house and yard. She has many friends and outside interests and meets with her groups of friends on a weekly basis.

I do agree with athena53’s grandfather though that there is such a thing as living too long.

 

[Nick12]

Hope the live to an old age but don't want to suffer in pain.

 

[Souschef]

I will be 81 this year. I passed my flight physical and check ride, so I figure I am good to go for another 2 years
My dad lived to 92, and my mom lived to 102, so taking that average I figure I am good to 97.
I agree with all about the quality of life being the most important thing.

 

[pacergal]

Most relatives lived to early/mid 80's; although one GM lived to 100 and was able to live in her own apartment with minimal daily help until the last 3 months.
I think 85-90 is reasonable for me, wouldn't mind living to 100 if I was healthy like GM was.

 

[ziggy29]

My family history has had remarkably ordinary longevity. If that is any indication, maybe 75 if that.

However, I can't use that as a gauge, since my mom, my dad and his dad all had lung cancer (and all died from cancer of one form or another) and all were smokers for decades. I have never smoked. So maybe absent that, I think maybe 80 to 85? I do know we have a family history with no heart disease, and I have rather high "good" HDL cholesterol, so that may be a factor.

I do have a grandmother who died at 52 (a year before I was born) but she died from alcoholic cirrhosis. Again, sadly self-inflicted. So in reality, I don't know how long my genes would expect me to live in the absence of smoking or heavy drinking.

How long? If I have enough money and enough health, I'd place no upper limit. Otherwise, I think 90 would be enough for me.

 

[davebarnes]

If you believe in folklore - (dad (95.5) + mom (95.5))/2 = 95.5
My planning horizon is 95, so I expect 6 months of eating low-cost cat food.
Oh, wait. My wife is 9 years younger than me. So, she gets the cat food.

 

[Midpack]

Mid 90’s based on parents who lived to 93 and 96, and they didn’t make a special effort to prolong their lives. I’d prefer about 10 years less.

 

[ckelly78z]

My parents are both 77 and going strong, still traveling quite a bit. With all of my health issues, I will be doing well to pass 80, but would like to see 85, Wife will most likely live to her mid 90s like her grandmas did.

 

[Retch The Grate]

Based on family, I'm hoping for mid 90s. And with any luck medical advances will add a couple decades of functional life, but I'm certainly not counting on that given we haven't seen any huge upswings in aging based end of life mortality.

My dad's dad and my mother's mother both lived to 95+. My Grandmother's quality of life was great, she died in her chair after having had dinner and gone up to her bedroom for the night. My grandfather had a couple years of decline starting somewhere around 94, pretty clearly linked to his company moving to Jersey City from Manhattan so he couldn't walk to the office every day anymore. My folks got him into a nursing home for the last 6 months, which was less of a burden, not sure how happy he was about it (the search for a home he was willing to move into took a while).

 

[FLD3C]

Old enough to see humanity on Mars

 

[mamadogmamacat]

At the moment, I'm simply enjoying the fact that I'm more than half way through my late fifties, which is a statistical cluster for death in my family history by gender. The next cluster, and the largest one, is late sixties. So I frankly expect to shuffle off in one of those two ranges. Will be glad if I beat the odds and live longer. I find old age interesting albeit a growing challenge in terms of accepting the diminishments as they occur.

If I could plan it, would like to make it to my early nineties, both to see how much more societies worldwide have changed by then, mainly technologically and also because I really enjoy listening to the perspective of the one Aunt by marriage still living who is now in that age range.

 

[pb4uski]

How old do you think you'll get to be?


What age would you like to reach?

I'm guessing 85 or so (63 now).

Depends on mental acuity and physical health. I have no desire to be like my grandmother was and an aunt is and ask the same questions multiple times during a 10 minute visit. Also, I have no interest in being bedbound and not being able to walk or live on my own.

I guess the bottom line is if I get to the point where I can't wipe my a$$ or remember the last time that I wiped my a$$, then it is time to go.

Perhaps I should set the bar higher, but I'm a bit of a slacker.

 

[ckelly78z]

For those of us who have a family history of early death, or issue that lead to death, maybe a full physical/blood workup should be in order. Also, a hard look at lifestyle, and diet might change those statistics for the better.

 

[MRG]

Mom and Dad were 92, and 96 when they passed. Weird as the males on DFs side don't live long or have unfortunate accidents. I'm only the third male in my family to reach 60 since the Civil War.

I don't have any idea about me. Just trying to enjoy every day.

 

[Sunset]

Old enough to see humanity on Mars

Old enough to live on Mars

 

[Rianne]

In my teens, I wanted to be old. I identified with "Prelude to a Kiss" with Meg Ryan. She had this obsession about being old. When I saw that movie, it confirmed I was not the only one who felt that way.

The average age for a woman with my condition (PKD) is 72. This is an inherited disease and I know my mom had it. She lived to 93, go figure. And she was healthy up to her last 4 months of mind and body. So I'll take any age in between, as long as I feel good and can live normally (whatever that means). Normally changes daily.

 

[mamadogmamacat]

exactly, normally does change rapidly, which was what was meant about learning to accept diminishments, although I'm not sure if it's daily yet for me.

The process is fascinating, and an interesting challenge. I could not predict that I would have so little anxiety about it, but sure am glad that is the case. Perhaps spending so much time in an analytical profession just makes me approach aging in the same fashion.