Choosing joy over discouragement

My two Cents About old Age; the Positive and the Absolutely Awful

Why we cry and why we laugh

I’m seventy-nine soon, to be eighty. Yikes! My eyes are wide open now to why some old-timers live lives of seclusion. Not all the time are we shut off from the world. But, sometimes, it feels like we’re distant. We all face life differently but with an eerie sameness.

I’m becoming more mindful of two moods shaping little chunks of my days. Do any of you grapple with these two very different moods?

Way too many awful days

I cry more now than I did in my forties.

There are way too many funerals. Don’t get me wrong here; I want to show respect for a life well-lived. I am greeting the widow or widower with sincere sadness for their loss. In the last four months, three of my family members died. Now I’m left with the memories; some good, some not so good. Losing loved ones is awful.

We older ones know when our spouse is changing, health-wise, and there’s no cure. And how about our own health? It’s not the everyday aches and pains, but it’s more than old age setting in. We now battle diseases requiring doctor visits and hospital stays.

Quite a few of us retirees become full-time caregivers.

Then, the pain of our grown children going through separation and divorce. Now our grandchildren suffer. And you’re at a loss of how to help. Yes, there are disappointments, some of our own making, and others we had no part in shaping. Why can’t we all get along? Norman Rockwell’s picture of a happy Thanksgiving meal with family and friends. Well, it’s ripped to shreds.

Old age is filled with positives

I laugh more now at things the younger ones deem essential; But I know different.

It is nice, sequestered in our little house by the side of the road. Yes, the public is but a short distance away; We can touch the people, but it’s our choice now to connect with people. We don’t have to be at the job site and our former bosses don’t want us there, either. And that’s a good thing.

There are fewer demands on our time, now. Hey, we like it that way. But we are not hermits. We enjoy the social life, on our terms. This Covid-19 pandemic has taught us that the people who thought they were essential are not. The frequent doctor and dentist appointments. Each visit only enriches them and depletes our bank account. Oh come now! I’m not suggesting we don’t have these appointments, but not every four months!

Older age is for peace and this reigns at our house. And it should reign at your house. Of course this is true. Because love and respect prevail twenty-four-seven in the Armstrong Old Folk’s Home. You can read about it here.

Well, there you have my two cents about living in retirement. Of course there is more, but that’s for another day. Our older years give plenty of reasons to cry, but many reasons to be joyful. I choose joy. How about you? Richard.

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