Thu Jan 13, 2022, 09:03 AM
lostnfound (15,213 posts)
Dear people over 80...
Your life is precious. Every day that you remain with us, we are grateful.
I am lucky to have someone in my life who is 85. He has always tended toward a dark humor, and morbid talk from time to time. I used to brush it off, tell him not to talk that way, especially around the young. Now I bluntly tell him, “you are CHERISHED.” There is nothing wrong with his hearing, but I speak up a little, to make sure he hears it. “You must stay with us. Please don’t abandon us in the middle of this journey.” The life he has lived is so unique. The stories he can tell, and the wisdom contained in them, are a valuable source of experiences and insight. “Tell me more.” “Tell me again.” I want him to live to be 99. Medical issues come and go. When he recovers from one, from near misses and health scares, it is such a happy feeling. “Ten more years,” I give silent prayers to the Great Being, to the Big Heart. Please give us ten more healthy years. Do not abandon us. Stay. The bookends of life: precious little babies with their blank books of life and a soul’s pen in hand; and the old ones, with their books nearly complete, but full of precious stories, their life’s work. Dear 80-somethings and 90-somethings, honor all the days of your life, all the way.. The singer sings it softly, “I’m 99 for a moment.” When you can sing those words in your heart, you’ll still be 15, 22, 33, 45, and 67…already possessing the lived life in your written book, a book not quite complete. Use those days to write the finishing touches — decide on the ending, write the acknowledgments, the dedication, the afterword; add details to an illustration, find the right shelf in the library, or give a copy to everyone in your life, before it is over. This song “100 years” by Five for Fighting always fills my heart so much that tears coming pouring out. Lyrics by John Ondrasik, some of the most profound and poignant words ever sung. 100 Years
by Five for Fighting I'm 15 for a moment Caught in between ten and 20 And I'm just dreaming Counting the ways to where you are I'm 22 for a moment And she feels better than ever And we're on fire Making our way back from Mars 15, there's still time for you Time to buy and time to lose 15 There's never a wish better than this When you've only got a hundred years to live I'm 33 for a moment I'm still the man, but you see I'm a "they" A kid on the way, babe A family on my mind I'm 45 for a moment The sea is high And I'm heading into a crisis Chasing the years of my life 15, there's still time for you Time to buy and time to lose yourself within a morning star 15, I'm alright with you 15 There's never a wish better than this When you've only got a hundred years to live Half time goes by, suddenly you're wise Another blink of an eye, 67 is gone The sun is getting high We're moving on I'm 99 for a moment And dying for just another moment And I'm just dreaming Counting the ways to where you are 15, there's still time for you 22, I feel her too 33, you're on your way Every day's a new day Ooh-ooh-hoo, ooh-hoo-hoo Ooh-ooh-hoo, ooh-hoo-hoo Ooh-ooh-hoo, ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo 15, there's still time for you Time to buy and time to choose, hey, 15 There's never a wish better than this When you've only got a hundred years to live
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38 replies, 4247 views
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Author | Time | Post |
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lostnfound | Jan 2022 | OP |
3Hotdogs | Jan 2022 | #1 | |
Buckeyeblue | Jan 2022 | #19 | |
Tanuki | Jan 2022 | #2 | |
40RatRod | Jan 2022 | #3 | |
ecstatic | Jan 2022 | #4 | |
niyad | Jan 2022 | #8 | |
colorado_ufo | Jan 2022 | #12 | |
Chin music | Jan 2022 | #14 | |
BlueSky3 | Jan 2022 | #26 | |
electric_blue68 | Jan 2022 | #32 | |
NJCher | Jan 2022 | #5 | |
ancianita | Jan 2022 | #6 | |
Frustratedlady | Jan 2022 | #7 | |
colorado_ufo | Jan 2022 | #16 | |
appalachiablue | Jan 2022 | #23 | |
Frustratedlady | Jan 2022 | #34 | |
Alexander Of Assyria | Jan 2022 | #9 | |
Victor_c3 | Jan 2022 | #29 | |
Alexander Of Assyria | Jan 2022 | #33 | |
secondwind | Jan 2022 | #10 | |
RamblingRose | Jan 2022 | #11 | |
BlueSky3 | Jan 2022 | #13 | |
lostnfound | Jan 2022 | #36 | |
roamer65 | Jan 2022 | #15 | |
LuckyCharms | Jan 2022 | #22 | |
albacore | Jan 2022 | #17 | |
Chin music | Jan 2022 | #18 | |
jamesatemple | Jan 2022 | #20 | |
lostnfound | Feb 2022 | #38 | |
LuckyCharms | Jan 2022 | #21 | |
appalachiablue | Jan 2022 | #24 | |
Emile | Jan 2022 | #25 | |
Jon King | Jan 2022 | #27 | |
CaptainTruth | Jan 2022 | #28 | |
Victor_c3 | Jan 2022 | #30 | |
AmBlue | Jan 2022 | #31 | |
lucca18 | Jan 2022 | #35 | |
Raine | Jan 2022 | #37 |
Response to lostnfound (Original post)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 10:19 AM
3Hotdogs (8,584 posts)
1. I'm 80, next year. (Yeah, 79 now.) But 80 is hard coming on my mind.
Last edited Thu Jan 13, 2022, 11:27 AM - Edit history (1) Its funny. Things have never been better for me in my life. Mortgage is paid off. I can pay the monthly bills with $ left over at the end of the month.
I don't have to set the alarm for anything except to make hikes with my club. Health? On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best, I am a 9.363 -- a few aches and pains, Omacron with no symptoms and now, negative. So, what's wrong? There are three dark clouds in back of me: Sooner or later, something will happen with my health. And, of course, the big cloud. The third one is the loss, sooner or later of loved ones and friends. The world will be lonelier. But I come from good genes. I probably will live to 100+ but what will be the quality of life? Yup. I recall the Gail Sheehy books. There are emotional stages of our lives. They come with good feelings and always with feelings of anxiety. Its good to know that most of us share all of these good feelings and anxieties. |
Response to 3Hotdogs (Reply #1)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 11:32 AM
Buckeyeblue (4,570 posts)
19. You are fortunate in your health but I suspect it's more than good genes
You've probably managed your weight well, you've lived an active life, with probably some structured exercise. You've stayed curious about the world. You've empathized with people. You've laughed. You've cried. And from time to time You've cussed in anger.
The reality is that most 80 year olds are struggling. My FIL who is a good man is going to be 80 this year. He did not take care of himself. He didn't manage his weight. He scoughed at formal exercise. And now he cannot walk even short distances without a walker. A wheelchair is needed for anything out of the house. He is alive because he diligently takes the multitude of pills prescribed for him. It's really a pretty shitty life. He talks about dying and my wife gets upset. But as I tell her, what does he have to really look forward to. So at 52 living to be old doesn't excite me. But I will continue to take care of myself in the event that I do make it into my 80's or beyond. I've always been curious to see what happens next. |
Response to lostnfound (Original post)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 10:23 AM
Tanuki (13,714 posts)
2. Thank you. We will all be 80 someday if we live long enough.
It has been horrible over the past couple of years to hear the lives and humanity of seniors and people with health problems being discussed so dismissively in the context of covid mortality.
Over 80? Your life is indeed as precious as anyone else's. ![]() ![]() |
Response to lostnfound (Original post)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 10:34 AM
40RatRod (464 posts)
3. I turned 80 today and still feel young.
Response to 40RatRod (Reply #3)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 10:37 AM
ecstatic (30,145 posts)
4. Happy birthday!! 🥳🎂
80 is the new 50.
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Response to 40RatRod (Reply #3)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 11:07 AM
niyad (89,549 posts)
8. A very happy birthday to you.
Response to 40RatRod (Reply #3)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 11:19 AM
colorado_ufo (5,219 posts)
12. Happy birthday!
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Response to 40RatRod (Reply #3)
Chin music This message was self-deleted by its author.
Response to 40RatRod (Reply #3)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 07:21 PM
electric_blue68 (7,938 posts)
32. Happy Birthday! 🎉
Response to lostnfound (Original post)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 10:56 AM
NJCher (30,263 posts)
5. Beautiful post
I needed to read something like this.
Last week I learned an old and dear friend died at 92. He was really special: a socialist millionaire. He beat ‘em at their own game, singlehandedly with a genius level IQ. I didn’t get to see him toward the end. How I would love to know where that mind went in the last years of his journey. |
Response to lostnfound (Original post)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 10:57 AM
ancianita (27,926 posts)
6. I'm so glad to know someone out there feels this way about the old. I don't know many who do.
Thank you. I didn't know I needed this until you said it.
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Response to lostnfound (Original post)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 11:04 AM
Frustratedlady (16,050 posts)
7. I'm over 80 and still above ground, which is a plus...I think.
For many years, I was stuck at 33 until my kids heard me say that and corrected me. I don't know where the 4 years went from 33 to my realization I was no longer at that threshold.
After a heart problem, I recently went to my family doctor's office for an appointment. When she walked in, she said, "I didn't expect to see you again." That wakes you up real quick-like. Fortunately, she ended it with, "You are amazing!" Now that I'm amazing, I plan on sticking around a while longer. Who knows what amazing entails? Onward and upward. |
Response to Frustratedlady (Reply #7)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 11:25 AM
colorado_ufo (5,219 posts)
16. Your doctor needs some serious work on her bedside manner.
There are things beyond medicine that contribute to healing. Words are important! A good doctor I once worked for told one of his colleagues, "if you smiled once in awhile, your patients might live longer."
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Response to colorado_ufo (Reply #16)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 11:37 AM
appalachiablue (36,551 posts)
23. ++
Response to colorado_ufo (Reply #16)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 09:55 PM
Frustratedlady (16,050 posts)
34. She is actually a very compassionate doctor.
She meant well, but it surprised me when she said it. At that time, I had a cardiologist from another city who was taking care of me, and I had some serious problems. I can see where she was probably surprised I showed up...beat the odds, so to speak. She actually takes great care of me.
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Response to lostnfound (Original post)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 11:12 AM
Alexander Of Assyria (2,316 posts)
9. Wonderful post. American culture driven by youth advertising conceals what other nations know.
Elders are a precious resource of knowledge and wisdom and grace and much else.
How democratic a nation really is is how it treats its most vulnerable and powerless, yes?, and on this front the $800 billion a year military is number one reason we are failing our Elders and us all, and democracy. How fascist it is…look at Florida, trUmp…etc. and how they treat the vulnerable. |
Response to Alexander Of Assyria (Reply #9)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 01:05 PM
Victor_c3 (3,219 posts)
29. From something I read, advertising is significantly more effective on younger people than old
The older we get, the more set in our ways and habits we tend to become. Once people start buy a certain brand, they usually stick with it forever. That true all the way from toothpaste to shoes and automobiles.
What you’re saying makes a lot of sense regarding American society. We as a whole are so fixated on consumerism and making as much money as possible that we lose sight on the social impacts and what’s really important to us. |
Response to Victor_c3 (Reply #29)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 09:00 PM
Alexander Of Assyria (2,316 posts)
33. Culture change as important as client change when it comes to American Elders.
Probably a lot easier to effect culture change than climate change, so let’s get at with both!
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Response to lostnfound (Original post)
secondwind This message was self-deleted by its author.
Response to lostnfound (Original post)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 11:19 AM
RamblingRose (852 posts)
11. very timely post as I just returned from visiting my 99 y/o stepdad and 90 y/o mom. They still live
in their own home by themselves, however, it is time for them to find an independent/assisted living community.
They live 500 miles away and whenever I go visit them I never know if it will be the last so I treat it as such. |
Response to lostnfound (Original post)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 11:21 AM
BlueSky3 (273 posts)
13. What a lovely post
I, too, treasure my friends over 80. I want them to live well and be happy and feel loved and appreciated. Thanks for writing this.
I am saving your post for myself and others. |
Response to BlueSky3 (Reply #13)
Fri Jan 14, 2022, 01:55 AM
lostnfound (15,213 posts)
36. Aw..
Thanks!
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Response to lostnfound (Original post)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 11:24 AM
roamer65 (32,399 posts)
15. Lost my dad of 85 last week.
I miss him.
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Response to roamer65 (Reply #15)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 11:35 AM
LuckyCharms (12,902 posts)
22. I'm sorry, roamer65.
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Response to lostnfound (Original post)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 11:25 AM
albacore (1,740 posts)
17. This line....
"The bookends of life: precious little babies with their blank books of life and a soul’s pen in hand; and the old ones, with their books nearly complete, but full of precious stories, their life’s work."
Wow.... |
Response to lostnfound (Original post)
Chin music This message was self-deleted by its author.
Response to lostnfound (Original post)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 11:33 AM
jamesatemple (332 posts)
20. I thank you for posting this.
Last edited Thu Jan 13, 2022, 03:02 PM - Edit history (1) At 81 and counting, counting down, that is, the lyrics reminded me, touched me, made me feel something again. Both of my parents and all of my aunts, uncles, and many cousins are gone. This past couple of years, I've seen many of my peers, childhood friends, favorite movie stars, writers, musicians, et al., leave this veil of tears.
I know that in the scheme of life that all this is natural. But it helps when someone is kind enough to help me recall that all my life experiences are still there, most in some sense of reality, colored by failing memory. And my smiles and tears fomented by memories of days past somehow comfort me. Thank you, again. |
Response to jamesatemple (Reply #20)
Thu Feb 24, 2022, 12:38 AM
lostnfound (15,213 posts)
38. You're a treasure too.
I did not see this post until now. May these years of your life be sweet in their own way. Teach others or mentor someone or share your wisdom.
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Response to lostnfound (Original post)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 11:34 AM
LuckyCharms (12,902 posts)
21. Great post! Thank you. n/t
Response to lostnfound (Original post)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 11:39 AM
appalachiablue (36,551 posts)
24. Beautiful, touching and wise post. Thank you!
Response to lostnfound (Original post)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 11:44 AM
Emile (6,749 posts)
25. I'm 72 and sometimes feel like I'm older than dirt.
Response to lostnfound (Original post)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 12:12 PM
Jon King (1,879 posts)
27. Strongly disagree, age is an impossible predictor of anything or anyone.
Sorry, been around the block a bunch and in my experience its not better or worse to hang out with anyone based on age, or respect anyone based on age, or think someone is wise depending on their age. Or not.
I have spent time with so many ignorant and miserable 60-70-80-90 year olds, and some miserable 10-20-30-40 year olds. Unhappy 85 year olds and unhappy 23 year olds. I have gotten words of wisdom from 8 year olds, and 80 year olds. I have talked to 80 year olds who are so unwise its like they have lived under a rock their entire lives. There is no one size fits all. Some people are wise and amazing to discuss things with 10, some at 90. People can be pleasant or unpleasant, happy or miserable at any age. You take it person by person. Using age as a guide to anything is not productive in my opinion. |
Response to lostnfound (Original post)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 12:26 PM
CaptainTruth (4,922 posts)
28. I remember my dad climbing in a tree with a chainsaw at 80.
I lived out of state but I flew in to surprise my dad for his 80th birthday. He had a rental property, a 2 story duplex, with a huge old tree in front. The tree needed trimming so we loaded his big extension ladder & a chainsaw in the truck & went over. I helped him set up the ladder, he tied the chainsaw around his waist, told me to hold the ladder, & up he went. Before I knew it he was off the ladder, climbing in the tree, 2 stories up, a running chainsaw hanging off his waist, cutting branches. At 80 years old!
I remember standing there thinking about how I was in my 30s & I was the one standing & holding the ladder... What's wrong with this picture??? LOL That's just how my dad was, he grew up on a farm & if something needed doing you just did it. He had good health to age 100 & we had a big 100th birthday party for him, he loved it. Then, he just went downhill fast & was gone 15 days later. After his birthday he told us he felt like he'd accomplished everything he wanted to & his work here was done, & then he just went within a week. |
Response to CaptainTruth (Reply #28)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 01:13 PM
Victor_c3 (3,219 posts)
30. My friends grandfather fell off the roof when was in his early 90s
The same sort of thing. Work needed to get done, so he got up onto the roof to take care of it. On his way down to the ladder at the edge he slipped, fell 1.5 stories, and sprained his ankle and broke a rib or two.
Kudos to him and your dad. I hope when I’m that age that I’m able to do the same. |
Response to CaptainTruth (Reply #28)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 01:18 PM
AmBlue (2,512 posts)
31. That's amazing
Your dad reminds me of my dad. I grew up as a child thinking all men knew how to fix cars, refigerators, toys, air conditioners, build houses, do electrical, plumbing, carpentry, and on and on. In his 80s my dad was still climbing on top of houses and under cars, he was literally handyman to the neighborhood and many, many friends. Always ready with a steady, strong, and expert hand to help with projects big and little, and always a few jokes just for fun. Everyone wanted to "pick his brain" about some project they had going on. He was always generous with his time for his friends, but he was a family man through and through. Though we were far from rich, we never lacked for anything. He saw to that.
At 84 we learned he had profuse coronary artery disease (inherited from his father) and needed a pacemaker. Then, at 86 he was gone. We are the lucky ones for sure. |
Response to lostnfound (Original post)
Thu Jan 13, 2022, 10:00 PM
lucca18 (927 posts)
35. This is beautiful.❤️ Thank you for sharing.❤️
Response to lostnfound (Original post)
Fri Jan 14, 2022, 02:14 AM
Raine (28,414 posts)