My husband is 61 and he seems to be enjoying his life to the fullest. With enough money in his pocket, he would eat anywhere he wants and that's good life for him, he says. Although his pension of about $100 per month is pretty small but we have enough assets so that pension is for his own use only. And he also earns from his consultancy work. An added benefit is the senior citizen card that gives him almost 30% discount on food and other items. Movies are also free with that card. With his good health, it's really time to enjoy life while the sun is shining.
The problem is when you are young you tend to think of yourself as immortal, so put off doing many things until you are older. A lot of people seem to say they will do this and that when they retire, but as in the case of my father he never got there, dying at 54 with many unfulfilled ambitions.
Had ideas for when I retired , but it will never happen,such low pensions here it is not easy to pay bills etc. Suggested we downsized to my husband but he won't do that he loves our house and so do I
Well now. I just *had* to read this thread and the hope was that maybe I could find some encouragement because this is an extremely "sore subject" for me. (And I did... thank you everyone.) Like @Ken Anderson said, there are negatives that often outweigh anything that may have been a positive. I sure don't come up with many positives. I guess one positive would be being more financially secure after struggling like most of us do during our first few years or decades as an adult. As a female, one of the biggest positives is something that you fellas probably wouldn't have ever thought of, but... hmmm.... awkward topic, Mari.... but one of the positives is menopause. (Well, when it's over, I mean!) 'Nuff said but that's honestly the first thing I thought of when struggling to think of positives. I'd like to say "getting more respect" but that seems to be a thing of the past, too.
During the clan reunion that I attended last weekend, I came to realize that growing old has its perks particularly when the descendants are doing good. One aunt has 7 children and all but 1 are doing good. She said that the profit of life is to see your children having a good life and the bonus is seeing your grandchildren raising a family of their own. So despite her ailment of being paralyzed due to a stroke, she is still happy with what she has.
I thought about something that I read when I was younger it said, '...grow old gracefully.' that was the only part of it that I remember. I wondered what that meant back then and through those growing years I began to pay more attention to seniors, helping them cross streets and such which when I feel I'm able I continue to do. I think one positive of growing old would be seniors helping seniors because we know how difficult our age can be.
So true, better than dying young. Another thing about getting old is you've accomplished a lot. I look back once in a while and smile remembering the good times with relatives now gone. The young can't do that until they are our age. Looking back is something only we Seniors can do. We do get to have people being extra kind like giving us seats on the bus, helping us with our groceries, getting Senior discounts that's mentioned already, but there is something more as Senior citizens have, we lived till now and our lives mattered. At facebook there is a page for all Senior Citizens https://www.facebook.com/PatientsActionNetwork/ that you still can make a difference at any age. Being old means we got wisdom, experience and lived through things no other generation lived through, so we got a lot to be proud of being a Senior Citizen!
There are some old people who are always upset when they are ask what is their age when they are celebrating their birthdays.. It is a nice thing to look at our birthdays as the beginning of a new adventure in our life rather than looking at it as the end of our youthful days. In reality we can't stay young forever. So instead of worrying about it just live and enjoy your life no matter what the calendar is saying that you are already old.
I also know of some old people who are so conscious of their age. They even hate to hear that word "old" when you refer to them. On a brighter note, there are some who are proud of their age, that they have reached 80 and still alive. This reminds me of my husband's grandfather who is turning 103 this year. He said that life is to be enjoyed so he eats what he wants no matter if if is roasted pig or steak. And most of all, he still smokes a lot.
Yes it is true @Corie Henson I also knew some old people who are so conscious of their age. Well, whatever is the number in our age it is just a number just like what they said. What is important is the number of years that you will still have to live a meaningful life in this world.