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Post by hikerjer on Mar 25, 2023 9:20:59 GMT -8
Probably a bit of both. Personally, I don’t worry too much about dying but I do worry a bit on how I go.
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driftwoody
Trail Wise!
Take the path closer to the edge, especially if less traveled
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Post by driftwoody on Mar 25, 2023 11:50:33 GMT -8
I don’t worry too much about dying but I do worry a bit on how I go. Not sure if this is an entirely accurate attribution, but Woody Allen said "I'm not afraid of death; I just don't want to be there when it happens."
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panatomicx
Trail Wise!
Less noise and more green
Posts: 496
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Post by panatomicx on Mar 25, 2023 12:30:27 GMT -8
"You know that you're over the hill, when your mind makes a promise that your body can't fill"-Lowell George. Wow, what a thread, Jer! My life, exactly. I'll be 68 in a few weeks, and for outdoor folks like us, the limitations are tough. I have yet to acquire the sense of equanimity others have, but reading the posts does help. So what to do? I'm still planning our Wind River backpack this summer, but having the horsepackers carry the packs in from Elkhart the first day. I'm still riding with the bike club, but no more AA rides for me. I'm still doing Masters swimming, but stuck in the first lane. Still skiing, but mostly groomers. More instances of type II fun. Funny, though, as others did, I got a Kayak. Already looking at all the YouTube videos of ocean adventures. Ha! we'll see. A bit of perspective is needed, I do realize how lucky I am.
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Post by swimswithtrout on Mar 25, 2023 14:00:06 GMT -8
I don’t worry too much about dying but I do worry a bit on how I go. Not sure if this is an entirely accurate attribution, but Woody Allen said "I'm not afraid of death; I just don't want to be there when it happens." When I was moved from Radiation Oncology to Palliative Care, after my initial "terminal" diagnosis, much of the discussion was on how I wanted my medical treatments to proceed should I become incapable of making my own decisions and filling out all of the medical power of attorney forms. It's something I urge all of "us" to do before it becomes necessary, while we can do it with a level head .
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driftwoody
Trail Wise!
Take the path closer to the edge, especially if less traveled
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Post by driftwoody on Mar 25, 2023 14:13:43 GMT -8
how I wanted my medical treatments to proceed should I become incapable of making my own decisions I can't really know what it's like to reach that moment without having been there. I can only say I'm glad you are able to reflect on it, and offer sage advice.
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ErnieW
Trail Wise!
I want to backpack
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Post by ErnieW on Mar 25, 2023 17:25:00 GMT -8
for outdoor folks like us, the limitations are tough One thing I keep in mind is we are talking about increased limitations. We all had limitations our whole life. We are born so physically limited we can't even roll over. As we grow up our limitations reduce but are still there. Through my 20's the distance I could do kept increasing but there was always a limit. I had to have a zero day once and while or I would damage myself. Sometime in my late 30's my physical envelope plateaued. It felt like it was still expanding because experience and diversified activity. In my 40's I had to face the envelope was contracting. But I keep reminding myself there have always been limits and I am determined to not let that stop me living a good life.
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driftwoody
Trail Wise!
Take the path closer to the edge, especially if less traveled
Posts: 15,004
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Post by driftwoody on Mar 25, 2023 19:14:39 GMT -8
All we can do is diligence in treating our bodies well so our limits are not less than they can be.
Beyond that, we need to live with what we can do rather than dwell on what we have lost.
As a lifelong competitive softball player sometimes I can't help but think of the glory days of the past, but in the book of our life we must turn the page with interest in what comes next.
And, as has been pointed out, inevitably deal with the final chapter.
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Post by tallgrass on Mar 26, 2023 4:51:02 GMT -8
*sitting in the corner, quietly, at age 40*
I grimaced at the gray hairs showing up in my beard and being the parent of a teenager.
Thank you all for the reminder to be grateful for all I have in life. So far I've navigated these 40 years with very little roadbumps with any of my family. Even my retiree aged parents are in good health with few potholes along the way.
I need to enjoy and appreciate that more, cause none of know how long it's going to last.
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balzaccom
Trail Wise!
Waiting for spring...
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Post by balzaccom on Mar 26, 2023 5:41:30 GMT -8
My older brother was very affected by (and deeply supportive of) one of our cousins when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's some years ago. She eventually passed, but in the meantime he visited her regularly when she no longer able to speak, let alone maintain a conversation. He had a couple of really fascinating takes on the whole thing.
On recognition, he noted that we usually ask that people provide a double password recognition for us: we want them to recognize our face, and then provide our name. So when he was asked if she still recognized him, he would note that she often smiled upon seeing him, and that she seemed to like it when he held her hand or played music for her, or showed her photos. What does recognition mean?
And he also said something that ErnieW has noted. He liked to say that people embrace babies, make nonsense noise at them, and love it when they are respond to with a smile. But they don't like that at all with a senior affected by Alzherimer's. He wondered aloud at the difference...
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ErnieW
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I want to backpack
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Post by ErnieW on Mar 26, 2023 6:04:24 GMT -8
I grimaced at the gray hairs showing up in my beard and being the parent of a teenager. I'm the parent of twin 11 year olds and I am 62. I have been lucky. My hair on my head still has practically no gray and no balding. But like 15 years ago I did a 10 week section hike of the AT. I did 7 days at first before heading into a town for provisions. I decided to get a motel room for the night in town. Showering, TV and a soft bed sounded nice. I went into the bathroom and for first time in over 7 days and looked in the mirror. I was shocked. There was this gray bearded old guy looking back at me. I always shave at home so I had no idea. Sometimes the aging thing just slaps you in the face.
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RumiDude
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Marmota olympus
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Post by RumiDude on Mar 26, 2023 8:03:35 GMT -8
Sometimes the aging thing just slaps you in the face. I don't know if it is gradual and I just don't notice or what, but changes seem to come in spurts for me. And those changes can happen in a few weeks or months. But as I say to my doctor, I don't know if this is normal aging stuff or something serious cause they didn't teach me this in HS health class. But premature grey hair runs in my family so we all went grey early. Rumi
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Post by starwalker on Mar 26, 2023 14:42:08 GMT -8
I'll post in the storytelling thread about a 2 1/2 hike I took yesterday in my neighboring (100 yards away) Game Refuge. My wife got worried because I wasn't home when she thought I should be. The price I pay for being 72 is that people worry about me.
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BigLoad
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Pancakes!
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Post by BigLoad on Mar 26, 2023 17:38:08 GMT -8
One of my second cousins passed two weeks ago from Lewy Body Dementia. She was only four years older than me. It's another argument in favor of retirement.
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daveg
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Michigan
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Post by daveg on Mar 29, 2023 8:04:28 GMT -8
Yesterday, I ran across this 2022 article that references a fairly old, relatively small sample size study that found that positive attitudes about aging increase longevity. "'Participants with the most positive views of aging were living, on average, seven and a half years longer than those with the most-negative views.' Her research found that people's beliefs about aging transcended 'gender, race, socioeconomic status, age, loneliness, and health.'" So chin up and think happy thoughts about getting old, everyone!
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Travis
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WYOMING NATIVE
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Post by Travis on Mar 29, 2023 9:02:36 GMT -8
'Participants with the most positive views of aging were living, on average, seven and a half years longer than those with the most-negative views.' I was at the grocery store yesterday and the cashier called for a bagger. An old guy with white hair and beard and a young guy showed up. The young guy went to another counter. The old guy came to mine. The cashier said something about the contrast in ages and said to the old guy, "Don't you wish you were young again?" He said, "No thanks. No way I want to ride that rodeo again. I may hurt from old age but at least I don't hurt from stupidity!" I'm not sure if that's the positive attitude that will gain him a few years, but I had to agree with him.
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