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I like your message. It reflects calm, taking one's time with major decisions and not feeling pressured to make change just because one has gone past the milestone of age 70.
I see two polar trends—some seniors going into "senior" situations too early for their needs, wanting to settle things asap—or waiting too long to make a change and being in too negative a position in terms of health to implement it.
Seventies, once thought of as old, seems to be a vibrant decade for a lot of folks. When to make a critical change, if at all, is a big challenge many of us face.
NEg, i agree about the polar trends, and i, being a worrier, having gone through this as an only child with older parents, and having worked as a geriatric social worker, tend to have a nervous "trigger finger". but, you're right in that the seventies is a different decade, certainly than when my mother was that age 40+ years ago, and different than even a decade ago, in terms of expectations and choices.
i have a friend , a neighbor who will be 77 this fall. she is long divorced and had always thought she would be in a ccrc when she was 8o. she is a very active, young 77, and is now re-thinking her initial plans, the end result yet unknown. i have a high school friend, my age, an artist, single, and living in a high rise condo in an urban setting. she has considered ccrc, but is feeling, at least now, that she might be able to stay where she is , as she has the money to buy care , as needed.
so, i'll just have to say that i don't know, but i don't want to rush into anything that doesn't feel right, primarily for perceived safety. i don't like loose ends but, at this age, more than ever, i want to hold onto my options, be aware of what's out there, and bide my time. hopefully, i can.
p.s. I have the book you recommended, but the one for women
1. Physically active: I blow hot and cold about going to the gym, but I do walk quite a bit and I do exterior painting which involves carrying extension ladders around and climbing up and down them. The amount of physical activity I am getting right now is inadequate, actually, but it is a lot better than nothing.
2. Mentally active: There are several aspects to this.
a) Being president of our 26-unit townhouse HOA involves quite a bit of problem solving.
b) I like to read non-fiction, which keeps me learning.
c) And finally there is my volunteer work in schools, about which I have posted fairly often, so I don't want to bore people by talking too much about it - I can bore them by talking just a little. I'll just say that reading aloud to fifth grade classes involves more than just standing up and reading for the allotted time - it involves the selection of appropriate books and thinking about how to present them (background information, explanations, etc.). And the chess clubs would be a self-explanatory mental activity. Playing chess against middle school students may not be the most challenging thing in the world, but it does require a certain level of concentration and mental activity.
So in summary I do not hold myself up as a paragon of fulfilling the twin goals of staying physically and mentally active, but I think those goals are of primary, critical importance as we age and I think I am doing reasonably well with them.
And in any case, you asked, and I don't mind answering.
Edited to add: I am fortunate in having found things on both the physical and mental sides which I enjoy. I enjoy walking, I enjoy exterior painting, I enjoy reading, and to say I enjoy my volunteer work in schools would be an understatement. Only the HOA presidency is frequently NOT a joy, but at the end of the day it has its rewards too.
We have to ENJOY those things or we will stop doing them!
Last edited by Escort Rider; 04-10-2015 at 09:43 PM..
Always wanted to see the nat'l parks on the west coast and 2016 I am going to take a road trip for about a month and visit all those I can. Not in a rush so I figure about driving 500 miles or 8 hrs a day staying in quality motels and eating in as many recommended local restaurants as possible.
I have found a lot of recommended driving routes and will chose a couple and see how it goes.
I turn 67 in two days. Getting this close to 70 is making me wonder about a lot of things. So I'd like to hear more on this thread started last spring.
Pay attention to your health.
Get realistic on your retirement budget and how you will fund it.
The earlier you start for both of these the better the outcome will be.
I'm 55 and every time I feel kind of down, reading what others are doing here at an older age, makes me perk up. Very inspiring. Well, except for the relationship ones - lol.
I find that since turning 73, my sons "take care of me" rather than sharing events, stories, etc. with me. Hard to explain. They all took me to Star Wars but then I was totally left out when the after- movie discussions began. I keep up with economics, politics, and can cite more info about pro football than you would want to hear. The young people talk to the young people. I am left with the old people (like me) who are boring and tell me about how many pills each takes. Ugh! I go to political rallies, vote, build Legos with the grandkids, hike, etc. After 70 I have had very few decisions to make about life....that's a little disturbing. My DH has severe dementia but I DON'T....wish I were not treated like we are attached at the hip.
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Seniors age 70+: What advice would you give...
