BE OLD HAPPILY

The 'before', at 14

It is always gratifying when I tell people my accurate age and they tell me I neither look it nor act it.  Nevertheless, as I look at the 'tunnel of life', the light at the end of the tunnel is nearer and nearer.  No matter how an old person looks or acts, the reality is that life no longer seems endless.  It is a downhill curve of energy, strength, health, quickness of mind and memory. Even when people live to be 100, the quality of their life is not the same as it was even 20 years ago.  When someone in their nineties has serious medical problems, you can only hope their doctors fight the insurance companies to pay for treatment that would give them a longer life of enjoyment, not one of living like a vegetable.

There are lots of things on how top grow old, mostly eating and exercising habits.There are no book on how to be old of which I am aware.  Being old is not a number, it is a state of being.  Though I have written on this subject before, I will from time to time share some of my observations on the trip through old age. My assumption is that everyone has to grow old in their own way.  However, it is pitiful to watch denial like a disease in so many.  When you can no longer do something, stop trying to do it.  Stop telling yourself you will do it in the future when your senses and strength will not improve.. 

The 'After'  8.3 decades

One of the major things that old people suffer from is lack of touch (so they get dogs and cats that exhaust them in their care as well as break their budgets with vet bills).  I personally prefer people.  Another is loneliness.  In this case, many lean on their offspring, expecting some sort of dutiful demand for them to alleviate the loneliness.  This doesn't work either.  Duty to visit me is a noxious thought.  I have only wanted my children to call or visit when they wish to do so.  It that is rare because they have active lives and families, it is fine with me. In today's world there is no reason for seniors to demand the right not to have a computer or use other means to stay in touch.  They often expect more from their relatives than is practical or possible.  The lonely pit is sometimes just too deep.

The answer to this:  Make young friends.  They won't remain friends if they don't like you.
One danger from seniors is they try to offer advice.  Some of that is okay if it is not, "Well, the way I always handled this is...."  We all lived our lives, made our mistakes and hopefully learned from them, It is a shame that some older people do not understand that not everyone learns from words but often need their own hands-on experience.

There can only be sympathy for those who make no attempt to live in the present.  Trying to live in  the past just doesn't work. The past should remain a lovely memory.  If it is not; forget it and love in and for today.  Living long changes one  Live happily with the change or make everyone around you miserable with your complaints.