Fear of being old.

Well, no use of me being afraid of being old - I AM old. 85 years old. I need more help than I did and am slowly learning to accept it. I woke up the other day thinking I am glad I am 85 and not... Then I stopped and thought. I am glad I am 85. I am also glad I to be 85 and don't have a terminal disease and am not in regular pain. I still can move furniture a bit and climb on the first step of the stool carefully. I never was any good with heights. 😜

Aging is part of life if you are fortunate enough to live that long. Don't fear life.

Last fall my cousin, an extremely active and very fit 63-yr old (same age as me, we grew up together) died sitting on his couch after having mowed his yard and just chillaxing with a beer still in his hand, tv on. There is no official cause of death, and toxicology confirmed he had no bad or dangerous habits. Most likely an A Fib event with no one present to resucitate him. He definitely went "too young", but it sure is the way to go out. No pain, no hospital, no family freaking out and being stressed.

Right now I'm now in FL doing some annual hands-on caregiving to give my cousins a break. My aunts are 100 (full dementia) and 103 (fully cognizant). Every day I pray the Lord would take them in their sleep. I've been playing tennis 3x a week down here with people 15+ years older than me. I look at them and realize that, by the Grace of God, I'll be them eventually: knee replacements, bad shoulders, etc. but still playing and being 80-year old badasses. I know it won't last forever so I'm doing the most now while I can. My hubs is 65 and plays hockey 3x a week as well. Making hay while the sun shines but I have no delusions that I will avoid the challenges of age-related decline at any moment from injury or illness. The most we can all do is be realists and prepare accordingly.

I am 66 yrs old. I don't feel especially old. Handicapped, but not old. I don't worry about my age or what's going to happen. I have good support and have made the appropriate financial plans. Maybe I should worry for some reason but I don't know what it is and I'm not going to look for worries.

What's 'sad' is when people die young. Not when they are fortunate enough to get old and have so much time on Earth to LIVE the life God gave them.

Life is as hard or as easy as we choose to make it. It's all in how we look at things.

You learn to "work smarter not harder" and I guess "work safer not "stupider"
And JoAnn 1954 is my birth year.
No I don't "feel" old, I know I am oldER but hope to get olderer 🤣

I see people that are OLD at 68 and I see people that are YOUNG at 68
I figure every day on this side of the grass is a good one and I plan to make the best of it.

Age is truly all a state of mind. I just turned 63 last week,(and most days feel about 40, oh alright, maybe 45)and I am grateful the Good Lord has given me another year to enjoy the life He gave me.
I believe that it is a gift that God doesn't let us feel in our minds what our ages actually are, because if we did, I think we'd all be in big trouble.
So enjoy whatever age you are and don't you dare let anyone tell you you are old!

FOBO or FOOP? (Fear of Other People)

Here's a different thought ☺️

It's sad when people ignore that it takes a village to raise a child, or care for an elder..

You make yourself as safe as you possibly can, plan before you move, and pay a tall HS kid to do stuff that’s literally or figuratively “above your head”.

I’m a decade older than you and lighter and more agile on my feet than I was at 65.

What you THINK you are, you BECOME.

Our parents chose to have children knowing what is involved in raising them. I had a good childhood but not all of us did. So some may not look at their parents old age as a time to "pay it back". And big difference in changing a babies diapers than a full grown adult. Easier to raise a child in your 20s, 30s and 40s when u have loads of energy than at 65 when you too are considered a Senior. Then you throw in parents who are stubborn and make Caregiving really hard.

I paid my parents back by being a no problem child. I paid them back by babysitting my younger siblings so they could go out. I paid them back by showing my love by the things I did for them. The gifts I gave them that they hardly saw from my siblings. Being their to drive them to appts in another State. Being there for every hospital and Rehab stay. But at 65, I was not able to physically care for my Mom. My house was not conducive to caring for her. She had a better quality of life at the AL. Freedom to walk around and sit outside. Socialization and entertainment. So much more than I could give her. I was also able to enjoy her more.

At almost 73 I wonder what the next 10 yrs will bring. The first 73 have gone by so fast.

If 1954 is your birth year you are not old. At 72 I am not old just have to space things out more.

Not only is it sad to watch the others age, you know that you're headed down the same road. And some of us will have no one to look after us or give a ****. But that's life. I guess it's better than tragically dying young.

Not sure if it is actual fear.
I KNOW I should not climb a ladder to change the battery in my smoke detector...but I do.
I KNOW I should not try to move furniture around when I want to change things around...but I do.
You don't wake up one morning and say, "today I'm too old to change the battery or move the furniture". You realize that when you ache for 3 days after you move the furniture. Sometimes unfortunately after you fall from the ladder.
The last thing I want is to be constantly calling to ask family to come do......... whatever needs to be done. If I can do it I'm gonna do it.
So I know I'm old, I think I can still function. It is not fear of getting old. And not wanting to put my "to do list" on someone else.