Its sad when parents or inlaw parents gets old. They think they are not old and can still function. Life is hard for both elderly and caretakers but, thats just the way it goes. If we look back, it was hard for them to rear us from baby til now too. We are just getting our time back...
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.
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.
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.
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..
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!
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.
Life is as hard or as easy as we choose to make it. It's all in how we look at things.
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.
Aging is part of life if you are fortunate enough to live that long. Don't fear life.