Are you checking out the obituaries every day like Mark Twain did to see if you are on the list?
Or do you just average the ages to hopefully find some of the deceased are older than you? Either way, it’s a sure sign that you’re aware that you aren’t getting any younger. You are nearing the finish line. Ouch!
“I can’t do what I used to do.” How many times have we said or heard those words?
It’s such a common refrain among people in their 60s or older. Early on it may be spoken with a tinge of surprise, but often (God forbid) with a whine.
CareWisconsin and Catholic Charities-Madison jointly announce the transition of Care Wisconsin’s Adult Day Center to Catholic Charities-Madison, effective July 1, 2012.
One of the benefits of aging is that our vision improves so much.
What? You say you have more trouble reading the fine print on prescription bottles? And you need stronger light bulbs and magnifying glasses?
Oh, sure, but that’s not the kind of vision I’m thinking about. I’m thinking of hindsight. You know, they always say that hindsight is 20-20.
So here’s what’s so great about it. We have perspective now. We can look back at the things that drove us crazy with worry, like a messy house when guests arrived. But now we know that it was never the picture-perfect house that mattered, but the warmth of our hospitality.
Q My dad has been living with me for the past three years and while I love him and have entered into this arrangement willingly, I am feeling more and more resentful of my siblings. I have a brother and a sister, both live close to me and neither one of them offer to give me a break. I don’t understand how they can just go on with their lives and leave me here to do all of the caregiving. I am afraid I will unintentionally take out my frustration on dad. What should I do? (From a daughter in Janesville).
When I was a kid back in the 30s and 40s, Grandma often came for a visit, always dressed in black, and usually it was a funeral that brought her to town.
I thought that was so weird. Did she enjoy funerals? Was that the only thing on her social calendar?
Well, guess what? I’ve arrived at that age when I open the paper first to the obituary page. First I check out to see if there’s someone I know. Then, I average the ages to see how I’m doing.
On a good day I’m younger than any of them. On a bad day I’m older. Too often, it seems, I find a friend has passed and I feel a stab of pain for the spouse and I want to express my sympathy and attend the funeral.
When I recently attended the funeral of my dear friend Betty, it occurred to me that funerals are really good for us seniors. They remind us of our own mortality, of course.
“If I knew then what I know now” is a common opener for us senior citizens.
It is especially appropriate for things involving health care . . . the benefits of regular exercise, for example.
Granted, our Mamas got lots of exercise hanging out laundry, the Papas didn’t have power lawn mowers, and the kids didn’t get rides to school. Everybody walked everywhere.
I just wish I had heard about exercise during my childbearing years in the late 40s and early 50s.
I expected to get back into shape by pulling on a Playtex rubber girdle. (Oh, the memory of sweating through that one!)
It’s common knowledge that grandparenthood is a well-earned reward for surviving parenthood.
You get all of the benefits of having an adorable child without the pain and responsibility. No pain of childbirth, no up-all-nights. No having to feed and clothe them.
I entered that lofty stage of grandparenthood at age 40. I remember rushing to the hospital nursery to see Jeff, my first-born grand, and announcing to the nurse, “I’m the baby’s grandmother.”
Q What exactly does Medicare cover? My father is in his late 70’s and in failing health.
He has told me when the time comes he would agree to go to a “home,” (my mother died many years ago).
He seems to think Medicare will cover the cost of a nursing home. I don’t think it does. Who is right? (From a son in Beloit).
Q My mother has Macular Degeneration and some other health conditions. She lives independently and has been able to manage her own affairs and care without my help.
On a recent visit I was shocked to learn just how limited her vision is. She admitted her vision has been slowly getting worse over the last few months.
The problem is she insists on driving. She says she only goes out in the day time and only drives before or after the rush hour. She also stays off busy streets.
