Am I old yet?

[bbbamI]

I can't complain about feeling old to my daddy as he always says, 'Wait til you're my age.'

He's 81 and quite active. He knows everyone in town and socializes with a few folks most days. He still drives, cooks for himself, does most of the housework and takes care of his large lawn. My momma died one year after being a resident of a nursing home, so he still visits the residents he got to know well two or three times a week.

He always calls the visits to the nursing home..'visiting the old folks'. Then he'll say, 'Good grief I can't call them old...I'm older than most of them and I'm turnin' into mud.'

That's when I say, 'Ok...so you're turnin' into mud...can I at least say I'm gettin' dusty?'

 

[HFWR]

The older I get, the older old gets!

 

[jerome len]

After passing 70 I still feel young with limitations.....I now walk 15 miles per week at 3.5 on a treadmill instead of 4.1; back surgery means I limit what I lift, and I eat better.....much more fruits and veggies so my colds and flu have decreased. I see a Doc every 6 months insteaf of every year and I take a little viagra so I can chase my younger, very sezy DW.So, I'm getting older, doing better, I think, than others my age.....and, I THINK getting old will take me to about age 80......and, I will need cataract surgery in the next year or two.

 

[bbbamI]

The older I get, the older old gets!

My reasoning is when I don't want to do something, I blame it on being too old. If I want to do something...I say 'pfffftttt' I can do that.

 

[NW-Bound]

My neighbor complained to me of being old when his wife asked him to put in a drip system for her flower beds.

He looked a lot younger and healthier when he dressed up to go to the golf course with his buddies.

That was a true story.

 

[W2R]

My neighbor complained to me of being old when his wife asked him to put in a drip system for her flower beds.

He looked a lot younger and healthier when he dressed up to go to the golf course with his buddies.

That was a true story.

So true! I feel I am "too old" to be mowing my lawn, but I feel and seem a lot younger and healthier when I'm at the gym lifting weights.

 

[Ronstar]

^ Even 10 years older than you is still a kid! (I'll (hopefully) be 72 in four months from today.)

It's good to know that I have at least 10 more years before I'm old. Hopefully more. I'm starting to think that my MIL is just starting to get old at 86. She had a rough time completing a 4 hour hilly hike with us last fall. DW says no more hills for her mom because she's getting old.

 

[ls99]

No, I do not feel old. Still work out 2x a week, figure skate, kayak and do good bit of physical work. Hang out at my rough camp.

However I think I found a really good answer. Was reading an article about the current president of Uruguay, Mujica. A former memeber of a terrorist group Tupamaros. Who also was imprisoned for two years at the bottom a well. Talk about solitary.

Currently he is very popular with folks and some world leaders.

Finally to the point of the topic.

One of his staunch opponents said among other things: " "You know what getting old means? No longer wanting to leave home." "

I agree.

The source of the point:
Uruguay's José Mujica: the 'humble' leader with grand ideas | World news | Guardian Weekly

 

[NW-Bound]

I guess then I am OK if I still have my travel lust.

 

[ls99]

I guess then I am OK if I still have my travel lust.

So long as you are following through

 

[NW-Bound]

I am, I am, once I am past this last procedure that's already scheduled for Thursday.

 

[MBAustin]

My parents researched CCRCs starting when my father was 77. My mother was already significantly restricted in activities due to arthritis (and that's after a knee replacement). My father did not want them to be a burden on my sister (in PA) and me (in TX), and they wanted to stay in warm Florida, so to him CCRC was the way to go.

Unfortunately (or fortunately), after they put their house on the market and signed the CCRC contract, Dad was diagnosed with lymphoma while on their summer visit to MD. We were able to get the CCRC contract cancelled while he was in treatment and they moved into an independent retirement apartment community near my sister in PA. My father died later that year of a hospital-based infection and my mother stayed in the apartment for more than 7 years until a fall put her in a nursing home, where she died earlier this year.

Moral of the story - life (and death) happen(s). It's good to plan, and to have options, and to be flexible.

 

[Telly]

Going from 49 to 50 was no big deal.

Going from 59 to 60 WAS a big deal!

Look at the decade of the 60s... can start early SS, the full SS retirement age, and Medicare.

Come on now, that's old!!! You can't be talking about SS and Medicare and not think that is old! Maybe just whistling past the graveyard, or W-F-G or something like that.

Just ask any young people unrelated to you

 

[NW-Bound]

Look at the decade of the 60s... can start early SS, the full SS retirement age, and Medicare.

Come on now, that's old!!! You can't be talking about SS and Medicare and not think that is old! Maybe just whistling past the graveyard, or W-F-G or something like that...

Wow! The above is so right, and I did not think of that.

But here's some more. They give you senior discounts, let you into National Parks for free, let you camp for 1/2 price, etc... Why are they so nice? They feel sorry for you, that's how.

I've been trying to convince people here that they are old, but they keep on denying.

 

[Leonidas]

All that said, it is still my goal to be shot and killed at the age of 95 by a 20-year-old jealous husband.

I've been saying the same thing for 25+ years now! Except in my version she's 19!

What's old? I think it's when your body and/or mind have lost capability to perform properly to the point where you are forced to change how you live. I think a lot of the forced lifestyle modification we see around us is due to lifestyle choices, and not old age.

I look at reports on hunter gatherer tribesmen and see that lifestyle and diet keep them healthy and active until just before death, and then they decline rapidly and go in a matter of weeks. Almost to the very end they are active and lead basically the same life they had for decades prior. Replicating that end is my goal. If I die tomorrow, or twenty years from now, I want to be active until the very end. It's why I train and eat like an athlete.

 

[ajs56]

I find it interesting that so much of my life has gone by... I do notice that getting up and out from under one of my cars or the tractor is a little more of a struggle . But I am still eager to do repairs and modifications to my machines... I am the more peaceful now than anytime in my life and enjoy simple pleasures more.

The thought of having to "chase my tail" like motivated young folks do makes me appreciate this stage in my life.

+1 I could not agree more with these thoughts. A few aches and some things I do a little slower, but I still enjoy keeping up the house and grounds, cutting the lawn and cutting firewood, etc. Nowadays I may only do such physical work for 4-5 hours rather than 8-10 before calling it a day, partly because I get pooped out, but also because without having a job to go to, I can always finish tomorrow. It's pretty good.

 

[Lsbcal]

Wow! The above is so right, and I did not think of that.

But here's some more. They give you senior discounts, let you into National Parks for free, let you camp for 1/2 price, etc... Why are they so nice? They feel sorry for you, that's how.

I've been trying to convince people here that they are old, but they keep on denying.

I just remind myself of my actual age (66) and try to avoid the denial aspects. Even the most wealthy people cannot avoid time flow.

Like most issues in life, we can't sum up a situation in 1 word.

BTW, I've enjoyed reading through the posts above.

 

[inquisitive]

“I’m at the stage in life where I get a lot of pleasure out of finding a cheap stock.”
http://basehitinvesting.com/99-year-old-irving-kahn-discusses-his-investment-philosophy/
He still goes to the office every day.

I was talking to some people in their 90s-100s, and a couple of them told me that things really became much worse after they turned a certain age, I think it was 100, or maybe before that, but definitely after 90. A lot of it depends on one's health. Exercising, eating healthy, low stress, keeping one's mind active.

 

[Options]

Age is a mental disease. A socially contagious mental disease; people are always trying to project their own ideas of age limitations. Age is said to be about loss and I couldn't agree more: it's about the loss of enslavement to ideas of what you have to be, or "do", or have. One of the most wonderful things about aging is it's one of the very few gifts in life that is free. You don't have to do anything to get it, you don't have to "earn" it, and you don't have to set a goal for it. It flows into your life all by itself, little by little.

Personally, I didn't even wake up until age 45, really began to enjoy life at 50, and each year has gotten better and better since turning 55. I couldn't be a day younger than I am, and am looking forward to getting older 5, 10, 15 years into the future.

 

[braumeister]

Having a plan for the day seems to be a huge help.

When I first moved to this area, there was a piece in the local paper about a wonderful 99-year old gentleman and how he spent his day.

He maintained an office in a prominent building downtown. Every morning he would make his breakfast, then walk a couple of blocks to the bus stop. All the regulars on his bus knew him and he had pleasant conversations.

When the bus got to his office building, he would get off, buy a newspaper, and go up to his office. There was nobody else there, it was just his personal space. He read the paper, made a few phone calls to friends and acquaintances, then watched the sidewalk traffic out his window for a while. Then it was lunchtime, so he walked to one of several restaurants and had his main meal.

After that, he went back to his office and read a bit more (magazines, library books, whatever). This was before the internet, so that was his only real choice.

By mid-afternoon, he was ready to take the bus back to his home and wind down after his full day of "business."

I found his story inspiring, and he kept it up until he was at least 101. Not exactly what I would choose to do, but very impressive.

 

[MichaelB]

Having a plan for the day seems to be a huge help.

+1

Having a plan that involves regular physical activity, social engagement and mental activity seems to have a very positive impact.

I think one of the reasons some people adapt so well to CCRCs is because they offer a structured environment.

 

[Options]

Great new study on the effect of exercise/nutrition on healthy aging (at any age):

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/27/to-age-well-walk/?action=click&contentCollection=Media&module=MostEmailed&version=Full&region=Marginalia&src=me&pgtype=article

 

[Mulligan]

Going from 49 to 50 was no big deal.

Going from 59 to 60 WAS a big deal!

Look at the decade of the 60s... can start early SS, the full SS retirement age, and Medicare.

Come on now, that's old!!! You can't be talking about SS and Medicare and not think that is old! Maybe just whistling past the graveyard, or W-F-G or something like that.

Just ask any young people unrelated to you

I agree. It is what it is. It doesn't have to get you down, though. "Embrace the suck" as Nancy Pelosi would say.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[HFWR]

I have about 2.5 months left to "enjoy" being a fifty-something, but I figure it's getting me closer to my last age-related milestone: early SS!

 

[W2R]

I have about 2.5 months left to "enjoy" being a fifty-something, but I figure it's getting me closer to my last age-related milestone: early SS!

There you go! There are at least a few advantages to growing older.

I just wish I could reverse the process. Oh well. I must have a young heart because I sleep in and play video games a lot. My life is a teenager's dream come true.