Aging As I get older, I seem to get more bothered by things that never would have affected me that way when I was younger. I am learning what it means to be old and getting older. For one thing, when you go somewhere to complain about problems you need to have fixed, like on a new car, you get the old fisheye, if the mechanics can’t find the problem. They think you are a silly old person. Let me give you an example. I purchased a new Honda and almost immediately I began to get warning symbols on the screen as I drove. Most had to do with the electric power steering. I took the car in and the error code appeared in a readout and the software was patched. That did not fix the problem, and to make things worse, it wasn’t showing up in the readouts anymore, but it was still happening and other warnings were also coming up, the door wouldn’t unlock unless I used the fob, even though they were set to open by the sensors in the door handles and if I opened the trunk manually, it would pop open when I started to walk away. The problem was this stuff didn’t always happen and I think many of us have had such an experience where we were trying to convince people of something and they just didn’t believe you. I thought to myself how can I prove these warning symbols were coming up even though they weren’t being recorded. Then I decided to buy an inexpensive clip-on video camera and I am going to wear it for a while when I drive the car and hope this will give me the proof I need. I still exercise, but do mostly cardio. I no longer lift heavy weights. There comes a time in life when one has to realize their limits. I do a lot of bending, walking, light weight curls and forearm straighteners. I also started taking Balance of Nature. I try to take care of myself and probably should be more careful about what I eat, but I figure at my age I might as well enjoy myself. You really realize your age when you see someone who looks really old and realize you are older than they are. Most of the time I don’t think about my age, but sometimes when you try and do something you used to have no trouble doing when you were younger, and it becomes a hard chore, then you realize your age is catching up with you. One of the signs of old age are the notices online from relatives of people you used to work with or go to school with, stating they died. As you age you see this more and more. I never wanted to move into a 55 and older community because I felt it was too depressing. One story I heard someone tell about their senior community was every morning the people would go out on their balconies, stretch and look around to see if everyone was still alive. I prefer to live around people of varying ages. The sounds of young children having a good time is a pleasure to my ears. There are many organizations for ex-military and I belong to one. It is sad to see everyone who belongs is getting older and the younger vets don’t seem to be interested. The phone calls have increased in number and when you hear the post calling, the first thing you think of is another member died, although they sometimes call for other reasons. I’m a guy who likes to do things for myself. One of the things I have found out is the older I get; the more people want to help me. I really appreciate the kindness of my neighbors, friends and family. People hold doors for me, thank me for my military service and sometimes want to drive me around. I usually wear a hat that says ARMY on it. Things really changed for me since the Vietnam War when you would get cursed out and even spit at for having been in the military. An example of the kindness of my neighbors, is when there is a snowstorm, they rush over to my house to shovel the snow, so I try and beat them to it. My kids always say let them help. They always seem to help with at least a part of it and it is several different families. One neighbor even brings in my trash cans. She is up at 6:00 a.m. everyday to walk the dog and says it is no trouble. I hate to get up that early. It seems the older I get, the harder it is to get out of the bed. I don’t mean physically, I mean mentally. I have talked to many other older people who have the same problems I have. It is morbid to say, but the very old ones just wish when death comes it is quick. I hear so many of them say this. The other thing they say is they would rather die than get dementia. I have to agree with them about this. I thank God I am sound of mind. I always had a hard time remembering names but aside from that I seem to still have all my marbles. I really feel sorry for those who have no friends left alive and sometimes no family. One of the most necessary things for all people, but especially older ones, is keeping social connections and not being entirely alone. Another thing which is important is keeping your brain busy. I do it by writing articles, but there are many other ways to do this like gardening, hobbies, and such. To fight loneliness, people can join their churches or temples and help out in various ways. There are senior clubs which can be joined and people can help out at charitable organizations. If one looks hard enough, they can easily find things to do and people to meet. Long life is a gift and may give some people a chance to makeup for things they did when they were younger. I have heard so many stories about family and friends not talking to each other for many years. I always told my kids never to get so angry at each other you stop talking. Even my beloved late wife and I had an agreement we never would get so angry we would walk out of the house. We rarely ever had an argument. My biggest regret about being old is my wife is no longer with me.
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