Now That You're Of A Certain Age...Are You More Careful?

I apologize, @OneEyedDiva for what I wrote. Not that it isn't true, but it didn't necessarily belong here. Mark this down to posting past my bed-time!

What I should have said was before I go in for a shower and during the entire shower, including leaving the tub, my mantra is: I Will NOT Fall; I Will NOT Fall, etc.

Coincidentally, that is what I mantra-d in learning to ride a horse. ;)
 

asp3 said:
My wife and I started using an inflatable queen size mattress 15 years ago on our first trip to Burning Man and only camped with a mattress since then. We got a king size inflatable last year and love it. We hope to keep camping for years. I recommend trying one before giving up camping completely.
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Wasn't our experience

An excerpt from a cabin build book I wrote a decade ago;

before we actually moved to the cabin

Late September/fall arrives
During the week we found a futon sofa (saves room in the day) for $25 on Craig’s list.
This was a ‘must’ purchase as the double high air mattress was really no better than the undulating single high one.
Yes, we were going to rise to meet the day like most humans, not (as was our custom) roll out and crawl to the nearest wall.

As a matter of fact, the last event that helped sway us toward a more bed like structure consisted of the little woman getting her head stuck between the wall and the mattress as she tried to do her customary roll off, arms flailing, one leg up in the air, struggling to free herself, sending waves of tidal motion thru my torso, causing me to scream like a little school girl.

It seems that when rolling off, her posterior remained in the mattress, trapped in the swale.
After what seemed like several minutes of her struggle, I did a power roll to save myself, ending up on all fours,
glancing over at my panic filled thrashing woman, I began to laugh uncontrollably.

She didn’t seem to find the humor

…breakfast was cold that morning…
 
I don't try going down stairs without holding on to the hand rail.

I have a First Alert alarm thingie which I wear around my neck in case of falls, etc. In the shower, I put it in a plastic bag within reach. I don't take my phone anywhere near the shower, as I don't think phones like dampness.
 

That's something that bothers me a lot. I have lots of mixed emotions. My dad had a bad heart. As he got older, there was more and more medical equipment in the house. Finally ,there was a hospital bed in the living room. Oxygen machines, etc. My parents lived in a small 1950s "Cape Cod" house. Where I used to watch cartoons, now, looked like an ICU. I have to take my blood pressure every day. I can't tell you how I hate seeing that bp machine. I hide my canes, and my walker. I have such a fear of turning my home into a hospital annex. And I'm really not sure why, I am a retired RN. Plus, I use a wheelchair.
 
Pepper said:
Sorry to report I'm an effing mess. I hate this "old" thing. Due to a recent hospitalization I am actually starting to plan how I will off myself rather than be at the mercy of pain and caregivers who don't care.
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🧡🧡...perhaps I should come there and beat the crap outta that old age thing that's attacking you hunny...
 
treeguy64 said:
Lol! Rough "camping." How many rooms does your tent have?
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Gary O' said:
Wasn't our experience

An excerpt from a cabin build book I wrote a decade ago;

As a matter of fact, the last event that helped sway us toward a more bed like structure consisted of the little woman getting her head stuck between the wall and the mattress as she tried to do her customary roll off, arms flailing, one leg up in the air, struggling to free herself, sending waves of tidal motion thru my torso, causing me to scream like a little school girl.

It seems that when rolling off, her posterior remained in the mattress, trapped in the swale.
After what seemed like several minutes of her struggle, I did a power roll to save myself, ending up on all fours,
glancing over at my panic filled thrashing woman, I began to laugh uncontrollably.

She didn’t seem to find the humor

…breakfast was cold that morning…
Click to expand...

We've got a two room tent for car camping. For Burning Man we have a very large one room canvas tent that is built to withstand the high winds that come up in the desert during the event. We haven't used that tent in 12 years.

We've had some mattresses that didn't remain inflated that well and quickly got rid of them. Our latest mattress has an internal inflation device so before going to bed we start the van, plug the mattress in and "top it off" so that it's as firm as it can be. It generally stays very firm, but we like it at it's most firm when we sleep.
 
Lewkat said:
Sadly, I never learn. I guess I forget my age and plow ahead like I had sense. I missed the last step on the stairs, looking at the dog and fell flat on my face. I broke my nose in 2 places and the plastic surgeon congratulated me on how I managed to do the damage so evenly that I did not require surgical repair. Yes, I do watch my step on stairways now and find that when I am walking too fast, I stop before I lose balance and steady myself before continuing. But, that's the extent of it.
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aside from the fall, I do the same as you, and just carry on as I always have despite the herniated discs, my dodgy knee and the OA and various other problems.. I still run up and down very steep stairs depending on how my back is behaving on any one day..some days I need the full use of both bannister rails.. but generally I try to keep going as tho' I was still 21.. I still drive at night , and drive fast everywhere..

I don't like getting older due to the pain at times , especially in the mornings when my back has seized some days during the night.. that's when I have to sit just for a minute on the edge of the bed and then pull myself up with my cane... but that happens relatively rarely..\

I've always been a fast walker..and enjoyed walking too, and I can still walk fast. but if I know I'm going to walk for over a couple of miles now or over rough terrain I have to remember to put my knee brace on.

off the top of my head the only real difference to me at 65 compared to 21 is that I don't have the same energy... and that I can no longer wear high heels to walk in.. but I still wear them car to bar
 
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jujube said:
I have reluctantly given up roller coasters and other extreme thrill rides with a lot of g-force. The spirit is willing but the flesh (and the retina) is weak. I have to get my extreme thrills vicariously now. I'm still on the fence about zip-lining, though. Not a lot of g-force so I might still be able to do that.
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Go for it.

I always wanted to go hot air ballooning but kept putting it off 'til next time so never did and age happened.
 
As you get older you should take more risks. The logic goes like this.....
When you are young, the chances of dying of natural causes are very low, so taking potentially dangerous risks is unwise. However, as you get older, the chances of dying get higher and higher, so the same risks are relatively trivial.
 
Capt Lightning said:
As you get older you should take more risks. The logic goes like this.....
When you are young, the chances of dying of natural causes are very low, so taking potentially dangerous risks is unwise. However, as you get older, the chances of dying get higher and higher, so the same risks are relatively trivial.
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Wellll, I don't want to 'go' any sooner than necessary.. and definitely not from being stabbed or shot while hiking to Walmart at 3 a.m. :cautious:
 
hollydolly said:
aside from the fall, I do the same as you, and just carry on as I always have despite the herniated discs, my dodgy knee and the OA and various other problems.. I still run up and down very steep stairs depending on how my back is behaving on any one day..some days I need the full use of both bannister rails.. but generally I try to keep going as tho' I was still 21.. I still drive at night , and drive fast everywhere..

I don't like getting older due to the pain at times , especially in the mornings when my back has seized some days during the night.. that's when I have to sit just for a minute on the edge of the bed and then pull myself up with my cane... but that happens relatively rarely..\

I've always been a fast walker..and enjoyed walking too, and I can still walk fast. but if I know I'm going to walk for over a couple of miles now or over rough terrain I have to remember to put my knee brace on.

off the top of my head the only real difference to me at 65 compared to 21 is that I don't have the same energy... and that I can no longer wear high heels to walk in.. but I still wear them car to bar
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You have 10 more years, sweety…. I do walk a lot....it keeps me going....But of course I don't have the same energy that I had when I was 65...
 
Stairs freak me out more. Especially one house I visit for my job in which there is a varnished hard-wood stair case and the caregiver insists everyone take their shoes off at the door. Not my idea of fun walking down that stairway in stocking feet. I'm seriously thinking of filching a pair of those "socks with treads" from the office store room =P
 
JaniceM said:
I don't know if age has anything to do with it, or perhaps how it's related to common sense, but it wasn't too many years ago that I'd think nothing of walking anywhere I wanted/needed to go in the city in the middle of the night, but I don't do that anymore.
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That's something I used to do as well. In fact some grocery stores were open 24 hours and I would walk to one close to me. I don't do that anymore. Our city has changed considerably. It's downright dangerous to be alone out at night.
 
i am night blind so i do not like being out at night.
 

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