88 and What Comes Next?

Mitch86

Mitch86

Member
Location
Connecticut, USA
I'm 88 and have a geriatrician visiting me every 2 months. I was in hospice for 3 weeks in October, 2018. I could die any day now. I wonder if any of you other folks are in my boat? How do you approach YOUR end of life?

By the way, I now spend most of every day playing chess at Chess.com and Civilization VI at Steam.com. If any of you folks want to play Civilization VI multiplayer, let me know here and I will inform you how to join a Civilization VI multiplayer. I haven't worked on a job for 18 years. I just play games most of every day.
 

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I think someone posted this some time back?

You know …… time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years.

It seems just yesterday that I was young and embarking on my new life. Yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went.

I know that I lived them all.

I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams.

However, here it is …… the last quarter of my life and it catches me by surprise.

How did I get here so fast?

Where did the years go and where did my youth go?

I remember well seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that I was only on the first quarter and that the fourth quarter was so far off that I could not visualise it or imagine fully what it would be like.

Yet, here it is …… my friends are retired and getting grey - they move slower and I see an older person now. Some are in better and some worse shape than me but I see the great change. They’re not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant …… but like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we'd become.

Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day! And taking a nap is not a treat anymore, it's mandatory! Because if I don't of my own free will, I fall asleep where I sit!

And so …… now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do things that I wish I had done but never did! But at least I know that, though I’m on the last quarter and I'm not sure how long it will last, that when it's over on this earth... it's over.

A new adventure will begin!

Yes, I have regrets. There are things I wish I hadn't done …… things I should have done but truly there are many things I'm happy to have done.

It's all in a lifetime.

So, if you're not in the last quarter yet, let me remind you that it will be here faster than you think. So, whatever you would like to accomplish in your life do it quickly!

Don't put things off too long! Life goes by so quickly.

So, do what you can today, as you can never be sure whether you're in the last quarter or not!

You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of life.... so, live for today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember - and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things that you have done for them in all the years past!

‘Life’ is a gift to you.

Be Happy!
 

I could die any day now.

So could anyone else, we're all in the same boat, and something tells me you've been harping on death most of your life, or at least the last two decades.

There's no such thing as death. You don't know you're dead so it doesn't exist. Neither do you. Simple. It's the dying that could be hard, but not death.
 
Say something. Don't say something. Go ahead, Kate, say it. Nah. But after the back-and-forth I just had with myself, I'm going to say a few things and hope it's not taken the wrong way. Mitch, a couple of days ago I saw that you posted this same concern in July of 2021... that you were 86 and "could die any day now." And a couple of weeks ago, you were looking for a replacement for when your wife dies. Anyhow, here's a sincere question to you... are you being, or should you possibly be treated for depression? Has it been mentioned to you? I'm only saying this out of concern... a lot of your posts seem to be focused on dying and .... well, something to consider, yes? 🤷‍♀️
 
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Mitch86 said:
I'm 88 and have a geriatrician visiting me every 2 months. I was in hospice for 3 weeks in October, 2018. I could die any day now. I wonder if any of you other folks are in my boat? How do you approach YOUR end of life?

By the way, I now spend most of every day playing chess at Chess.com and Civilization VI at Steam.com. If any of you folks want to play Civilization VI multiplayer, let me know here and I will inform you how to join a Civilization VI multiplayer. I haven't worked on a job for 18 years. I just play games most of every day.
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I was only wondering how old were your parents? You don’t need to answer if it’s upsetting to you.

But, I do think 89 comes next.
 
Is it a little chilly in here? Probably not, the cold bothers me more than it used to.

Mitch86 said:
I'm 88 and have a geriatrician visiting me every 2 months. I was in hospice for 3 weeks in October, 2018. I could die any day now. I wonder if any of you other folks are in my boat? How do you approach YOUR end of life?

By the way, I now spend most of every day playing chess at Chess.com and Civilization VI at Steam.com. If any of you folks want to play Civilization VI multiplayer, let me know here and I will inform you how to join a Civilization VI multiplayer. I haven't worked on a job for 18 years. I just play games most of every day.
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Mitch, I think it's great that you are playing those games every day. It would be something that's very interesting and keeps a person involved and alert mentally.

You must come from sturdy stock. I think some of the folks on this forum are only in their 60s. :) They may see things differently if they make it to 78, 88, 98. I know my outlook is a little different than it was 10 years ago. My friend who died last year was 99 and other than physically she wasn't much different than she had been for the 20 years I knew her. She wanted to make it to 100. I used to wonder why anyone would want to live that long but now that I see how well she did with it, I might rethink that.
 
Mitch86 said:
I'm 88 and have a geriatrician visiting me every 2 months. I was in hospice for 3 weeks in October, 2018. I could die any day now. I wonder if any of you other folks are in my boat? How do you approach YOUR end of life?

By the way, I now spend most of every day playing chess at Chess.com and Civilization VI at Steam.com. If any of you folks want to play Civilization VI multiplayer, let me know here and I will inform you how to join a Civilization VI multiplayer. I haven't worked on a job for 18 years. I just play games most of every day.
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Were are all in the same boat. You are alive & lucid. You understand that life ends for everyone, the when of the ending is unknown. Enjoy everyday you get up.
 
I always jokingly say we should start old, and go young, it's funny most times we end up at the same place, diapers, and can't talk...

Mitch86 said:
I'm 88 and have a geriatrician visiting me every 2 months. I was in hospice for 3 weeks in October, 2018. I could die any day now. I wonder if any of you other folks are in my boat? How do you approach YOUR end of life?

By the way, I now spend most of every day playing chess at Chess.com and Civilization VI at Steam.com. If any of you folks want to play Civilization VI multiplayer, let me know here and I will inform you how to join a Civilization VI multiplayer. I haven't worked on a job for 18 years. I just play games most of every day.
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Mitch, YOU have to live as my Mom always told me, Live today like it's your last... None of us know when the last day will ever happen... So enjoy your games... enjoy life the best you are able to, and don't worry about death... If you do that, my friend, Death will be here before YOU know it, and YOU will wonder where the time went by that YOU wasted... So like I said my Friend, play your games and enjoy it...
kburra said:
I think someone posted this some time back?

You know …… time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years.

It seems just yesterday that I was young and embarking on my new life. Yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went.

I know that I lived them all.

I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams.

However, here it is …… the last quarter of my life and it catches me by surprise.

How did I get here so fast?

Where did the years go and where did my youth go?

I remember well seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that I was only on the first quarter and that the fourth quarter was so far off that I could not visualise it or imagine fully what it would be like.

Yet, here it is …… my friends are retired and getting grey - they move slower and I see an older person now. Some are in better and some worse shape than me but I see the great change. They’re not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant …… but like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we'd become.

Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day! And taking a nap is not a treat anymore, it's mandatory! Because if I don't of my own free will, I fall asleep where I sit!

And so …… now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do things that I wish I had done but never did! But at least I know that, though I’m on the last quarter and I'm not sure how long it will last, that when it's over on this earth... it's over.

A new adventure will begin!

Yes, I have regrets. There are things I wish I hadn't done …… things I should have done but truly there are many things I'm happy to have done.

It's all in a lifetime.

So, if you're not in the last quarter yet, let me remind you that it will be here faster than you think. So, whatever you would like to accomplish in your life do it quickly!

Don't put things off too long! Life goes by so quickly.

So, do what you can today, as you can never be sure whether you're in the last quarter or not!

You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of life.... so, live for today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember - and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things that you have done for them in all the years past!

‘Life’ is a gift to you.

Be Happy!
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Everything you said there @kburra is so very very true, where did life go... it seems to pass me like a high-speed train... I remember some of it, and some are just a blur... But we must all enjoy the last quarter of our lives... Again what I wrote up above, of one thing I remember my mother telling us when we were on our way to school with our lunch bags... You must always live today like it's your last. I wish I have lived by those words as I did in the early part of my life, and now try to do it every day now... But the center of my life, I did not, not that I can remember... But if we all live by the words my Mother always said to us... then I am sure we'll live our last quarter the best we can...
 
Thinking and talking about death is a natural and rational thing to do when you’re 88 and the national life expectancy is 77. It’s not a mental illness to be cured with a pill, unless it causes unpleasant depression in the elderly person themself. Usually the unpleasant feeling is within senior citizens who can’t face their own mortality and want the elderly to pretend to be spry and immortal.
 
Mitch86 said:
I'm 88 and have a geriatrician visiting me every 2 months. I was in hospice for 3 weeks in October, 2018. I could die any day now. I wonder if any of you other folks are in my boat? How do you approach YOUR end of life?

By the way, I now spend most of every day playing chess at Chess.com and Civilization VI at Steam.com. If any of you folks want to play Civilization VI multiplayer, let me know here and I will inform you how to join a Civilization VI multiplayer. I haven't worked on a job for 18 years. I just play games most of every day.
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I believe any one of us could get his ticket stamped before you. Though I was born probably as you were graduating high school I know the edge is near. My wife is midway between our ages and we plan as though I’ll be the last one standing but I remind her that isn’t guaranteed.

Still we’ve neither one ever been in hospice so I’m sure that feels very different. But like you I do what I like as much as I can everyday as though the ride will never stop. What else can we do?
 
Mitch86 said:
How do you approach YOUR end of life?
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I'll try to answer this in the way I hope it was intended.

Every day of my life is mostly maintenance. Exercise, housework, paying bills, etc.

I've worked very hard to find interesting and satisfying things to do, with some success. So I don't need anyone to tell me to "get out there and...."

But I can't conjure up what I really want, such as a loving partner. Maybe I couldn't in the past either, but at least then I still had hope.

I'd be happy to know I could go to bed tonight and never wake up. But I probably won't get off that easy. I'll wake up tomorrow and have to shower, wash dishes, etc. My aches and pains aren't too bad now, but I suppose they'll get worse.
 
Been There said:
I was only wondering how old were your parents? You don’t need to answer if it’s upsetting to you.

But, I do think 89 comes next.
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My dad died at 72 and my mom died at 95 but her speech was lost at 76 due to a stroke for the rest of her life.
 

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