Getting old is not for sissies

i guess i don't have to reveal my age - that was done two years ago and the celebrations nearly killed me :wink:

mrs. h tells me that considering our age we simply don't take things seriously enough - sorry , there i go again .

our youngish physician - early 50's - shows little compassion . he tells us that we are "the picture of perfect health" and he just hopes that he and his wife will be as healthy as we are when - if - they reach our age .
we leave his office scowling because we always hope for some compassion ("mitleid" is the german word , meaning "to suffer with the other person ") .

while we are basically in pretty good health , arthritis is a bit of a bother .
even though i take two tylenol at bedtime , after about 6 hours of sleep my hips wake me up - asking me to move around and take another two tylenols and no more sleep thereafter . i'm definetely not an afternoon napper - YET !.
even though we go swimming monday to friday mornings , we could use some more exercise in the winter , but walking on icy sidewalks is not a good idea and we haven't signed up at the gym yet .

while my B.P. - one waterpill a day - and cholesterol are well within limits , IBS has troubled me for years and can sometimes become quite uncomfortable . for the last three weeks i've started off breakfast with a bowl of hot oatmeal and that has definetely improved things . our physician suggests that it's the bulk that does the trick . i had taken metamucil for years - on and off - but it didn't work nearly as well as the oatmeal .
cleaning up the gooey and sticky pot is a bit of bother , but i can handle that :wink: - the dishwasher also helps .

memory : i was never good at remembering names and that has NOT improved . though i do remember mealtimes . i'm just like ebeth's two dogs ; if lunch itsn't served precisely at 12 noon and dinner at 6 pm , they start barking , demanding their grub !
NO , I'M NOT YET BARKING FOR MY MEALS - but who knows what might happen eventually ?

the ranks of our family members , friends - both in canada and germany -
and old neighbours keep getting thinner and thinner .

i am certainly thankful that my company allowed me to retire at the ripe old age of 55 . my older brother and many others had warned me not to be so foolish and stop working that early . "think of all the money you'll be losing " , many said . well , the gave me TWENTY YEARS of enjoyable life - thanks empire life insurance company !

so i'll close and wish you all the very best for the new year !
i think i'll dig up one of the old vinyls and let guy lombardo and his royal canadians play and sing one of my favourite songs for me .
when we are at home for new year's eve , that song is always on the turntable !
take care a2k friends !
hbg

ENJOY YOUR LIFE ...

hbg, I think arthritis hits most of us; mine is usually in the hands, and it comes and goes at different times of the year; warm or cold. I live a mostly pain-free existence, so I can't complain.

I think excercise is the key to good health. Like most seniors, I slow down during the winter months because the climate is not condusive to walking. What keeps me going, though, is during my travels at new and old destinations, I just love to walk.

With the physical slow-down, I'm enjoying longer cruises where we get spoiled with much leisure time to read some good novels, and eat some good food. Meeting new friends on trips is also a bonus.

My wife and I don't have a pension from our place of employment, but have saved enough with social security to enjoy our life in relative comfort. We are fortunate.

Couldn't ask for much more at this stage in our life.

i've asked for more , but ...
you are right , when we hear of all the problems some of our friends are having - some younger than we are - we are very fortunate indeed !
good to hear that you are "up-to-par" again - let's kep it that way , you hear !
all the best wishes for the new year !
hbg

hbg, To you and yours; the best of holidays and the new year.

Waiting for my brother in law to arrive; we're taking him out for a christmas meal, because they've been inviting us to their home for christmas every year for many. My sister in law is home sick, but she wants the prime ribs. He's here.

after four days of chicken , pork roast and turkey - all very good with all the trimmings , even potatoe dumplings - i put my foot down (very gently :wink: ) and told mrs h to close up the kitchen . tomorrow we phone the GOLDEN WOK and have dinner for four for next two days delivered - ebeth's dogs seem to agree that chinese take-out is in order !
hbg

EBETH HAS DOGS???

I'm 46. While my husband was suffering through terminal illness, my brother died unexpectedly and I developed a pretty serious case of Chronic Fatigue and fibromyalgia. Stress related. I also had such a bad case of endometriosis I had to have a full metal jacket hysterectomy. I've always dealt with low level depression, but it gaped open to serious depression during this time.

Things became unbearable and I nearly committed suicide. Frankly, this place and a few big hearted people here held me together for a while. My inability to come up with a good explanation in a suicide note to my daughter forced me to hang on.

So, I got through it---and after I survived these things, I decided to live. Experiment. See. Call my shots. We'd lost everything...little things, familiar things, big things...everything. I'm starting over.

I went back to school. Almost done.

I started working out and I feel 20 years younger. The arthritis is gone, I can take 5 flights of stairs like a pro---when I first got to UGA, I thought I'd have to drop out because of the stairs and mountains and hills all over campus... I don't need anti-depressants any longer. I like myself more than I have my entire life.

I have no money, no healthcare insurance, no credit (although I pay off my car early in a few days--maybe it'll make a difference), no savings, no assets (financially anyway--but my family, my children and my boyfriend are miracles). The reason I have a car is because the car dealer in the small town knew what my life had been like and against everything, he trusted me to pay off the car.

I refuse to worry about this. My life was full of worry. It never will be again. I plan to start addressing retirement as soon as I start teaching. It seems far too late, but I have no other recourse. I'm going to live til I die.

Yeah, CI---getting old is NOT for sissies.

My best wishes and hopes for you and your lovely wife.

Lash, Your life sounds like it's familiar to most of us sometime in our life - early or later in life. While in grade school, I had no "plans" for my future, and my life looked really bleak after high school; barely graduated.

To make a long story short, the best thing I ever did was to volunteer into the US Air Force in the mid-fifties. They put me into working with nuclear weapons, and it dawned on me that I couldn't be that dumb. That changed my life!

Graduated in the top 25 percent of my college class with a major in accounting. As they say, the rest is history, but I met a great woman who had confidence in me, and my professional working career turned out to be a dream.

What I learned was that it's never too late or too bad of a life to call it quits. Yes, I too have contemplated suicide, and now wonder how so many end their lives not knowing what their future really holds. I marvel at how most of my adult life turned out. It takes some gumption, hard work, and luck, but I"ve accomplished more in this life than I could have ever hoped for.

Not bad for a kid who didn't have any dreams.

hbg, The prime rib at David's was excellent; tender with enough crust to add to the flavor with horsh radish. The lobster bisque was also excellent, and I had a pumpkin pie and coffee for dessert. Had a cab with the meal. My wife wants to go for a walk after we let the food settle a bit.

I had a 401K and we had been squirreling away retirement money--but my husband's illness and death wiped everything out. Didn't want to leave the impression we/I had no plans for retirement...

But, CI, I like your life story.

You did very well for yourself. I congratulate you!

Can i get that embroidered on a pillow?
Keep on truckin' Sister Lash.

I kneeled down yesterday to snap a photo of a toddler at her level and the way my right knee creaked on the way back up was almost embarrassing. The baby looked around to see what the wierd noise was.
Of course today I'm wearing a brace.

Hey, eoe. Your knee, my knee, a few more knees, and maybe we can play a tune. Combine that with the grunting, and we'll have a symphony. (Sorry to hear about the brace. Hope it helps.)

It has. Thanks.

That's no lie. Whoever said use it or lose it wasn't kidding.
I love to sing and dance. I can't sing worth much and don't dance as fluidly as I did in my disco days but I plan to twirl until I fall down for good.

More knees here. I had major knee reconstruction surgery on my right knee when I was 18, which was over 30 years ago. It left my right knee weak and my left knee carried a greater burden. My left knee is now filled with calcium deposits and chronic arthritis. I can walk and bike, but that's it. I need knee replacements on both sides but I don't want to do it yet because I only want to have to go through it once and they currently only last about 10 years.

My memory is ok except for names. I can be in the middle of a conversation with someone and forget their name. I no longer try to learn new names -- there's simply no room in that file folder in my brain.

Of greater concern to me is that English is no longer my first language. I never had a strong second language so now that English is failing me (grammer, tense, spelling, word replacements) I'm pretty much adrift when it comes to writing. Fortunately, I make a good living crunching numbers and no longer need to depend on what once were good writing skills, but it's extremely frustrating to reread some of the things I write.

I find that some of the stuff I write doesn't make any sense - even to me! It happens more frequently now, and I'm wondering when I'm going to have to stop posting on a2k. What a frightening thought!

Sorry, but what the hell are you talking about?? (You're not making any sense!)

Mame, You just don't see how many edits I make before I hit Submit. he he he

CI...

I'm sure between a bunch of us we can decipher what we're all trying to say

I look forward to seeing you again! Not much longer, hmmm?