Those that came before you

BlunderWoman

BlunderWoman

Senior Member
My father is almost one hundred years old. He gets online..he surfs the web...he's on facebook..he emails. He still drives, mows his grass on a riding lawn mower, etc.

I do not mow my lawn. I cannot take the heat in the summer.

I remember years ago when my step mother was still alive I had talked my father and step mother into living with me. He wanted to go outside and mow my whole almost 7 acres. It was HOT outside close to 100 degrees that day. I was afraid he would stroke out so he and I had an argument of a sort over whether I was going to let him use the riding mower to mow the lawn. At the end of the argument he had said " Don't treat me like a baby. If I want to die on the GD lawnmower than I'll just die on the GD lawnmower!!!"
What do I realize now? That no matter the good intentions on my part, I was wrong. My father knew something I did not know. He knew he needed to keep moving & working & feeling useful. What I have now observed over and over again is that those who keep moving as much as they can seem to fare better.

I see myself as being less healthy at my age than he was because of my own laziness & giving in to aches & pains. I need to change that and soon. Maybe I'm just the lazy one, but I view the generation before my own as being more self disciplined and not as lazy.
 

We can always learn from our parents, no matter how old we or they are, my 96 year old mom
does not do the computer thing but a few weeks ago I found her upon a ladder cleaning out the gutters...I agree with you, BW, on the staying busy.
 
I think you can learn what not to do by observing your parents!
 

Jackie22 said:
We can always learn from our parents, no matter how old we or they are, my 96 year old mom
does not do the computer thing but a few weeks ago I found her upon a ladder cleaning out the gutters...I agree with you, BW, on the staying busy.
Click to expand...
Wow. Cleaning the gutters at 96. Awesome :)
 
Yep, my mom was mowing the lawn with a riding mower at 92, just a few months before she died. She loved it. I was always glad she was doing something to keep her active. I did fear the neighbors might complain to someone though, and blame me for allowing it.
 
Yes, Nancy, I felt the same about the neighbors when mom was still driving, I don't have to worry about that now, she stopped driving on her own.
 
Yeah my Dad is 94. In the last three years or so he's gotten a bit dizzy with walking, losing train of thought. Heck I'll be 54 and I limp and lose train of thought. But he's always taken care of his health. I think it's the combination of meds that make him dizzy. He still lives independently though. His partner drives them more often than not...him driving is pretty scary.
 
Blunderwoman, your father sounds like a remarkable man. I think staying busy is important. I can be lazy when I'm not at work. I too need to make some changes that will probably start when I'm not working on my feet full time.
 
I bought a condo in 1987 and gave away my lawnmower. I have not missed it at all.

I would prefer going sailing, but Marge won't buy me a sailboat. We did enjoy them when we did have them.

She does like our convertible a lot.
 

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