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I also am of the belief that if you're not busy living, you're busy dying.
It's also not easy giving up your youthful ways as the mind seems to make you think that you're always in your thirties which make your mouth write checks that your body can't cash.
I also am of the belief that if you're not busy living, you're busy dying.
It's also not easy giving up your youthful ways as the mind seems to make you think that you're always in your thirties which make your mouth write checks that your body can't cash.
I also think you need to stay active, within reason. Some seniors do so little that I think the inactivity accelerates their decline.
All of my life, I've been depended upon -- to go out and shovel the snow, to pay for the meal or the gas when on the road, to fix the broken porch light, to take the daughters down the aisle, to bring the wife breakfast in bed, to fix that funny squeak the car makes, to clean up the remains of a run-over dog, to start the generator when the power goes out. It's what I do; it's who I am.
I don't feel sorry for myself. I'm a man, a husband, a father, a grandfather. I give my 7 yo grandson a piggyback ride even when I don't feel like it. And when his 9 yo sister wants her turn, she gets a ride, too. Glad to oblige!
After all, what am I saving it for? I will lose it plenty soon enough. Life is meant to be lived, not to be gotten through by taking it easy.
I was just thinking about this today. DH's football game buddy is out of town so he didn't have his usually Sunday afternoon off. Talk about restless!
We both came from families of immigrants who basically worked themselves to death. The value of hard work came high on the list with those people. The bar was set high.
My husband was one of seven farm boys and there wasn't a lot of loving attention to go around. I think one of the ways he defined his value to others was through hard work. (He'd probably deny that.)
I don't have nearly the problem with putting my feet up that he does but I can identify with him. After having an illness that took a long time to recover from I am very much aware of the feeling of personal uselessness that surprised me when I couldn't accomplish my usual activities.
But some of it is simply personality type. My husband is one of those people who lives to work. Good thing we've got them, those salt of the earth types.
I am 85, and my wife is 87. We are in reasonably good health, with having lived with some medical problems.
When you ask, why does a man not just put his feet up and sit and do nothing, you are asking him to just sit down and die.
I do a lot of things, and so does my wife. As our 4 level 3,700 sq. ft. house, is a lot to take care of, we hire a housekeeper to come in 3 days for 3 hours at a time to keep up with it. She is fabulous. Costs $50 a time here, using our equipment and supplies.
I also pay someone to take care of the lawn and landscaping. One acre landscaped, and the balance in pasture. They use our equipment such as a combination tractor/mower. We have a number of large cottonwood trees, honey locust trees, blue spruce, etc.. Lots of leaves fall every year, but we don't rake them. The wind will come up in day or two, and as we sit out in the open, the wind takes them away before we could rake them. We are fortunate in that we can afford things like this that are hard for people our ages. But we do a lot of things ourselves, to still feel like we have some value.
We also when we were in our 40's come in and take care of the house while we ran our investment real estate brokerage. I worked with the clients, and my wife ran the office. We were both licensed brokers, and she was able to do a lot of things, that she could not if she was not a partner and a broker. It was nice to go home every night knowing the housework was done, or would be done the next day. This allowed us to do more productive things. I had a crew of part timers to do repair, etc., on rentals we managed, and to spruce up a home or other building, before we put it on the market. They also maintained our home. So we have had household help for about half our lives.
I once was a good mechanic, but I do not touch our Explorer, or F-150. Both have too much automation that you need to be able to hook up to a computerized reader, to know what is wrong with them. On top of that, at my age, I do not enjoy doing it myself any longer.
We have a lot of walk to clear, and I do clear it. I am not stupid enough to use a shovel. Our snow is light and fluffy. I simply get out our high powered leaf blower and blow it off all the walks in a lot less time than shoveling and one heck of a lot less work. No stressing and straining like if you use a shovel.
I am not stupid, and know what I can do, and what I should not attempt. If I should not attempt it, I pay someone else to do it. On the other hand as I am frugal, the easy things I do myself, and the ones that are difficult or would cause me to strain my body more than I should, I just hire someone to do it.
I am 85, and my wife is 87. We are in reasonably good health, with having lived with some medical problems.
When you ask, why does a man not just put his feet up and sit and do nothing, you are asking him to just sit down and die.
I do a lot of things, and so does my wife. As our 4 level 3,700 sq. ft. house, is a lot to take care of, we hire a housekeeper to come in 3 days for 3 hours at a time to keep up with it. She is fabulous. Costs $50 a time here, using our equipment and supplies.
I also pay someone to take care of the lawn and landscaping. One acre landscaped, and the balance in pasture. They use our equipment such as a combination tractor/mower. We have a number of large cottonwood trees, honey locust trees, blue spruce, etc.. Lots of leaves fall every year, but we don't rake them. The wind will come up in day or two, and as we sit out in the open, the wind takes them away before we could rake them. We are fortunate in that we can afford things like this that are hard for people our ages. But we do a lot of things ourselves, to still feel like we have some value.
We also when we were in our 40's come in and take care of the house while we ran our investment real estate brokerage. I worked with the clients, and my wife ran the office. We were both licensed brokers, and she was able to do a lot of things, that she could not if she was not a partner and a broker. It was nice to go home every night knowing the housework was done, or would be done the next day. This allowed us to do more productive things. I had a crew of part timers to do repair, etc., on rentals we managed, and to spruce up a home or other building, before we put it on the market. They also maintained our home. So we have had household help for about half our lives.
I once was a good mechanic, but I do not touch our Explorer, or F-150. Both have too much automation that you need to be able to hook up to a computerized reader, to know what is wrong with them. On top of that, at my age, I do not enjoy doing it myself any longer.
We have a lot of walk to clear, and I do clear it. I am not stupid enough to use a shovel. Our snow is light and fluffy. I simply get out our high powered leaf blower and blow it off all the walks in a lot less time than shoveling and one heck of a lot less work. No stressing and straining like if you use a shovel.
I am not stupid, and know what I can do, and what I should not attempt. If I should not attempt it, I pay someone else to do it. On the other hand as I am frugal, the easy things I do myself, and the ones that are difficult or would cause me to strain my body more than I should, I just hire someone to do it.
You want to know why? Because men, no matter their socio-economic class are mercilessly judged and criticized on their strength and virility by both sexes. Boys from a young age are taught to only project strength. That's pretty much it in a nut shell.
I just listened to an interview with Sylvia Weinstock--
"Internationally celebrated cake designer Sylvia Weinstock makes cakes that astonish the palate, dazzle the eye, and reward the spirit. Her spellbinding cakes..." Sylvia Weinstock Cakes
She is 87 years old, still works everyday. I don't know if she has any health problems, but she is not slowing down. I am sure she has millions of dollars.
Some people have no desire to "slow down" or to "give in".
I just listened to an interview with Sylvia Weinstock--
"Internationally celebrated cake designer Sylvia Weinstock makes cakes that astonish the palate, dazzle the eye, and reward the spirit. Her spellbinding cakes..." Sylvia Weinstock Cakes
She is 87 years old, still works everyday. I don't know if she has any health problems, but she is not slowing down. I am sure she has millions of dollars.
Some people have no desire to "slow down" or to "give in".
Hey if you can physically do it, knock yourself out.
You want to know why? Because men, no matter their socio-economic class are mercilessly judged and criticized on their strength and virility by both sexes. Boys from a young age are taught to only project strength. That's pretty much it in a nut shell.
You could be right.
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