Do you really want to get old?

[Mai72]

By old I mean 80 plus.

It seeems that when most people become old the body starts to rapidly break down. My father had to be taken to the hospital because he has afib and had a very rapid heart beat. He had been healthy for most of his life. He's doing OK now. But, when you look at human evolution we were put on this earth for one thing. To reproduce. To keep the bloodline going into the next generation. I don't think the human body was meant to live past 70, 75 tbh. Its why we become non productive in old age. We aren't desirable to the opposite sex anymore. We get wrinkles. Skin sags. We lose our hair, and get hair in weird places. Alzemiers, Parkinson's disease, cancers, and heart disease creep into our lives. We are done having children. And yea, old rich guys like Al Pacino who just had a child doesn't count. He is an outlier.

Maybe this doctor has the right idea? I get it. Death is a scary thing for most people. But, living way past your prime is not living a good life. Not if you're in constant bad health.

 

[nakedfrog]

I've seen plenty of people in full control of their faculties past 70, and they'd probably have been in better health if they'd taken better care of themselves when they were younger. I don't want to "get old" but I also plan to take care of myself.

Its why we become non productive in old age. We aren't desirable to the opposite sex anymore. We get wrinkles. Skin sags. We lose our hair, and get hair in weird places. Alzemiers, Parkinson's disease, cancers, and heart disease creep into our lives.

You behave as these are all foregone conclusions. People become non-productive for a variety of reasons.
Desirability, wrinkles, sags, hair... so what?
Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, etc... again, if you take care of yourself, you can minimize the impact of these.
I don't intend to hang around forever if I'm not able to function as an independent being, but I'm also not going to pre-emptively figure that I've got no more value as a human once I pass a certain age. Hell, look at Willie fucking Nelson!

 

[lxskllr]

What I want is irrelevant. I want to be 24 my whole life. The universe doesn't care. I'll just take it as it comes, and deal with it. Same as I always have.

 

[biostud]

My grandmother was 99 when she died, and besides some hearing loss, artificial knees and hips, she was cognitive fully functional, and went for a walk every day. Her neighbor was over 100 and went to Florida from Denmark every year to her time share.

 

[BurnItDwn]

My Grandma is 90 and she still has her wits about her. Her body has slowed down, but, she is still happy to be alive and loves traveling from her home in WI to see her great grandkids in SD and IL.

 

[igor_kavinski]

I'm 42 and have no desire to continue living if my strength/stamina is only going to go downhill. My health took a serious beating after age 35 and while it's been somewhat stable this past year, I no longer feel like I want to beat someone up (I guess that's the litmus test of a healthy male with raging hormones? ), mostly coz I think it will be just one punch to take me down and my return punch, if I even get up, will be worse than that of a healthy 55 year old woman. What's the point of wishing to be alive if you can't even defend yourself with your two hands?

 

[K1052]

My maternal grandfather is turning 100 this year and lives on his own, cooks, drives, and has all his marbles. If I can be like that I'll take it.

 

[igor_kavinski]

My maternal grandfather is turning 100 this year and lives on his own, cooks, drives, and has all his marbles.

Blessed is he.

 

[Captante]

In the words of my late grandfather. (RIP) ❤️‍


"I never gave much thought to being 97 years old... until one day I found myself turning 96!"

I'm 42 and have no desire to continue living if my strength/stamina is only going to go downhill.

Boy are YOU in for a rough ride! *(for MY "mid-life crisis" I bought a motorcycle!)

 

[igor_kavinski]

Boy are YOU in for a rough ride!

I'm not in the mood to weep like a girl.

If I don't post tomorrow, you will know I wept like a girl before bed and then never woke up

 

[MrSquished]

I'd prefer to be 32 forever, however, to me there is a point when you reach a certain fragility and decay where that is the deciding factor if you want to keep on going or not, it's not tied to a specific number.

 

[Captante]

I'm not in the mood to weep like a girl.

If I don't post tomorrow, you will know I wept like a girl before bed and then never woke up

Little late for that my pasty friend!

 

[Captante]

I'd prefer to be 32 forever, however, to me there is a point when you reach a certain fragility and decay where that is the deciding factor if you want to keep on going or not, it's not tied to a specific number.

Big-time ... my grandfather (mentioned above) died @ 97 BUT was very healthy till 95 or so.... he enjoyed his life up until then.

I'm 59 and quite few people I knew who were roughly my age have passed .... some of whom had their health deteriorate to great extent many years before they went.

My personal "bar" is a bit lower than @igor_kavinski .... I'll settle for being at least partially aware and being able to walk around under my own power! (and when I go I don't want to know what hit me!)

 

[BoomerD]

What I want is irrelevant. I want to be 24 my whole life. The universe doesn't care. I'll just take it as it comes, and deal with it. Same as I always have.

Exactly...if I'd have known I was gonna live this long...I'd have taken better care of myself.



Fuck that...no I wouldn't...I enjoyed my earlier years. I did my best to live life fully without regard to the damages I was doing to my body.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Yes, I want to get old. I want to get old gracefully and retain as much function as is physiologically possible as an old man, but I 100% want to get old.

I have seen first hand what an incredibly beneficial force grandparents can be in the lives of their grandkids, and I want to provide the same benefit to my (fingers crossed) grandkids as my inlaws and parents provide to my children.

I want to be financially secure in my old age and have all the time I wish I had now (while I am working) to take up frivolous hobbies, just go sit at the beach and do nothing on a Tuesday afternoon, to get up on a whim and whisk my wife off for a romantic weekend.

That said, I do wish all my loved ones outlive me in my old age. I'd rather die a little younger and be surrounded by my loved ones than live a little longer and die alone after my wife has passed on and the grandkids are too old and busy to care.

 

[Captante]

I want to pass away peacefully in my sleep like my great uncle.

Not screaming in terror like the people in the back seat of his car!

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

No.

Been ready to go for quite a while now.

 

[skyking]

I figure I have 10 great years in me, but I hope to keep on keeping on as long as I can take care of myself and enjoy the day.

 

[BoomerD]

I want to pass away peacefully in my sleep like my great uncle.

Not screaming in terror like the people in the bus he was driving!

ftfy

 

[dainthomas]

My great aunt lived on her own until her 90s, and then an assisted living apartment until she was 100. So that would be alright.

 

[brianmanahan]

i want to be forever young

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

'Assisted Living' is simply an extended period of waiting to die.

Just get it over with already.

 

[Captante]

i want to be forever young

Too late!

 

[brianmanahan]

Too late!

but i really want to live forever

 

[Captante]

but i really want to live forever

Me too bro... me too!

(kinda....)