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I know a lot of people that are my age (85) and are active and healthy. In the past two weeks, I have annual checkups by three specialists that have told me with my current health conditions I will last in decent health another 10 years or longer. My grandmother lived till she was 99, my mother till 98. MY 87 year old wife has 3 siblings all in good health in their 80s, and i have 2. I can tell you turning 85 is no big deal and does not make one want to die.
Who wants to live to 100? Healthy people who are 99.
Who wants to live to be 99? Healthy people who are 98.
It's a moving target. More important question to me is whether I outlive my spouse, or he outlives me.
That would have a huge effect on survivors happiness and lifestyle.
I am goal oriented and right now we have a 10 year plan which takes us to 70-something but looking ahead we really need a 20 year plan since one of us or both will statistically be alive then.
It's more a matter of psychology than physiology. I have zero desire to reach an advanced age, let alone triple digits. Others might regard this view as being patently ludicrous. To each his own.
When I was younger I always said that I wanted to live forever and three days because forever would not be long enough! Now that I am pushing 70 have downsized that ambition, mainly due to chronic pain and gradually lessening mobility. I do not want to gradually fade away and feel sad for each ability I lose. Also I am the last of my family line and it all ends with me so most of those I love already passed. So no, 100 is too long for me. As long as I can get around with a reasonable quality of life I'm still loving life but can accept that the days are not endless now and one day it will be time to go.
I've come to the conclusion that the essence of getting old is about loss, and how we handle it. Loss comes at us in many forms and ebbs and flows, but never disappears. All that changes is the specific loss: loss of eyesight, loss of loved ones, loss of balance, loss of memories, etc., etc.
And so perhaps the single best skill to age gracefully is learning how to manage/live with loss.
Anyway your post rang true for me for this reason.
The point is that you will have no choice, unless you let yourself succumb to something that kills you. If you have a slow insidious kind of cancer you will probably choose to treat it. If you have arthritis, immune diseases and so forth you will probably treat it. Our society does not allow you to decide not to live, as long as your body holds out, unless you have some sort of acute attack. So like it or not, you/we better be ready in case you/we "win" that lottery.
Years ago, the same question might have been, "Who wants to live to be 60-65?"
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