Silly Tilly
New Member
Hello - warning long post - would love some honest feed back and advice. Recently retired except for a few days a month, I'm 75, live alone in a town home complex, been here 4 years, maybe have met 4 neighbors, it's a mixed group, most I think work, I've heard there are neighbors who might be in my age range but they either have two homes, part of the year here, and part there (where ever that might be), some are much older and don't venture out.
I have issues with walking, so use a walker during the winter, I live in the Tundra, lots of snow, ice and cold, brrrrrrr, in the summer if going short distances will use a cane. I'm lonely, just realized that, have found myself glued to the TV, or spend a lot of time reading, cruising the internet, not being very productive which was enjoyable at first but now I want to get a more active life going again.
I value the days I have left on this earth and don't want to just waste them away, so many I know have already made their exit from this world, I'm super blessed to still be here. My married friends, well they are couples, they have each other, or married friends, they are nice and I hear from them a couple of times a year, but mostly they do their own thing. I've done some volunteer work, but find the older I get, the less opportunities I'm finding, not being able to walk so well does limit my opportunities as well.
I've been thinking I should get a dog, small dog, I could walk it in the summer, in the winter months I would train it to use piddle pads I'd put in the garage.
Has anyone my age, 75, who lives alone, got a dog for companionship in the last couple of years? I've tried to adopt through rescue organizations but found out I'm "too old" to adopt a dog under 10 years of age.
It was shocking to find I'm too old to adopt a dog of 2-6 years of age, but guess they presume the dog will out live me. I worry about getting an older dog, will it have bad habits, or medical issues from the start, might be too much for me to handle starting out. I really don't want a puppy but may have to concede if I'm going to get a dog, time is moving along, been looking for over a year. I do check the local Humane Society, mostly they have dogs bigger than me, I need to be bigger than the dog so we would know who is the pack leader.
I haven't traveled since I retired, not sure if I will, if I do, I would like to travel by car but not alone across country, can't find anyone I know interested in going with. I have a lot of ideas of what I want to do, but don't seem to have much will to execute, probably because I don't have anyone to do things with, talk with, bounce ideas off of, which also seems to be a problem, any suggestions on what to do about too much loneliness?
I have 3 daughters, all are very busy raising very active teenagers, or involved heavily in their careers, so little family contact except some holidays. Don't do organized religion anymore, find its too hard to navigate some churches, and especially some parking lots in the winter months. I've been going to a gym for a year, smile at a lot of people, tried to start conversations but most people seem to come with a friend or their time is limited to other commitments.
I feel stuck, invisible, and the usual solutions to the problem of too much alone time are not working at this age?
I will say "thank you" for any and all suggestions now rather than post several replies at once, hope that meets code?
Over and Out - Silly Tilly
I have issues with walking, so use a walker during the winter, I live in the Tundra, lots of snow, ice and cold, brrrrrrr, in the summer if going short distances will use a cane. I'm lonely, just realized that, have found myself glued to the TV, or spend a lot of time reading, cruising the internet, not being very productive which was enjoyable at first but now I want to get a more active life going again.
I value the days I have left on this earth and don't want to just waste them away, so many I know have already made their exit from this world, I'm super blessed to still be here. My married friends, well they are couples, they have each other, or married friends, they are nice and I hear from them a couple of times a year, but mostly they do their own thing. I've done some volunteer work, but find the older I get, the less opportunities I'm finding, not being able to walk so well does limit my opportunities as well.
I've been thinking I should get a dog, small dog, I could walk it in the summer, in the winter months I would train it to use piddle pads I'd put in the garage.
Has anyone my age, 75, who lives alone, got a dog for companionship in the last couple of years? I've tried to adopt through rescue organizations but found out I'm "too old" to adopt a dog under 10 years of age.
It was shocking to find I'm too old to adopt a dog of 2-6 years of age, but guess they presume the dog will out live me. I worry about getting an older dog, will it have bad habits, or medical issues from the start, might be too much for me to handle starting out. I really don't want a puppy but may have to concede if I'm going to get a dog, time is moving along, been looking for over a year. I do check the local Humane Society, mostly they have dogs bigger than me, I need to be bigger than the dog so we would know who is the pack leader.
I haven't traveled since I retired, not sure if I will, if I do, I would like to travel by car but not alone across country, can't find anyone I know interested in going with. I have a lot of ideas of what I want to do, but don't seem to have much will to execute, probably because I don't have anyone to do things with, talk with, bounce ideas off of, which also seems to be a problem, any suggestions on what to do about too much loneliness?
I have 3 daughters, all are very busy raising very active teenagers, or involved heavily in their careers, so little family contact except some holidays. Don't do organized religion anymore, find its too hard to navigate some churches, and especially some parking lots in the winter months. I've been going to a gym for a year, smile at a lot of people, tried to start conversations but most people seem to come with a friend or their time is limited to other commitments.
I feel stuck, invisible, and the usual solutions to the problem of too much alone time are not working at this age?
I will say "thank you" for any and all suggestions now rather than post several replies at once, hope that meets code?
Over and Out - Silly Tilly