What Did You Discover About Yourself After You Became A Senior Citizen?

hollydolly said:
In England we don't get the Bus pass until 66... :(...I don't get any other benefits other than free eye tests and free prescriptions...
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Holly, do you also get the glasses free? I was just rereading this thread, and that jumped out at me, because yesterday I paid over $700 for new lenses. Not the frames, mind you, I had them put into my old frames, which are fine... just the lenses. They are "progressive," and pretty complicated, but still...

The eye exam and treatment are covered by my insurance, but not the glasses.

About bus passes, I know nothing at all, not even in this country. I don't even know if we have such a thing. But one nice benefit is that we have to bring our cars in every few years to get the emissions tested, but if we are over 70, we're excused from that. (May be a state thing, not true all over the country.)
 

Sunny said:
Holly, do you also get the glasses free? I was just rereading this thread, and that jumped out at me, because yesterday I paid over $700 for new lenses. Not the frames, mind you, I had them put into my old frames, which are fine... just the lenses. They are "progressive," and pretty complicated, but still...

The eye exam and treatment are covered by my insurance, but not the glasses.

About bus passes, I know nothing at all, not even in this country. I don't even know if we have such a thing. But one nice benefit is that we have to bring our cars in every few years to get the emissions tested, but if we are over 70, we're excused from that. (May be a state thing, not true all over the country.)
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No Sunny, no free glasses, but we do get free Eye tests after 60.. we don't have to wait 'till 66 for that.

I know what you mean about the price of specs.. I had new ones last march.. and they cost me several hundred.. I think just over £400.. but then I have a high prescription so I get them thinned right down.. so that adds to the cost.. :)
 
Gaer said:
I was always told I had no talent, "Don't even try", anything!
Just exist.
When I became a senior, I threw off that negativity.

I'm learning things, creating and designing things, evolving
and growing towards enlightenment. I'm not letting others
limit my possibilities. "You can't stop me!"
Like @Pepper, I don't care anymore what other people think.
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You have so many talents, and most likely even more, we don’t know about.
I highly respect and enjoy the talents you have shared with us here.
Keep sharing them, please.
 
Jamala said:
In England you can get a bus pass for free travel when you reach the State Pension age (65).
If you live in London, you can travel free on buses, tubes and other transport when you’re 60, but only within London.
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It’s 66 here in the uk jamala
Going up
To 67 next year
 
Jamala said:
Yes charry, that is not under dispute. What I am trying to get across is there are instances where the rules are relaxed for the more needy.
Soo there won't be any bus passes for the majority of senior citizens.
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Every person who gets their pension will automatically get the bus pass
Whether needy or rich jamala
 
I still don't know how I got here. The time just flew by when my husband died. I have lived a life of in between for more than a decade. I tried to fill up the loss, my Mom came to live with me as she got sick. My son' s fiance and her son came to live with me. They all kept me busy, there was no time to grieve, fall apart.

Now they are gone, my Mom has passed, the kids were able to save and buy their own home. Now, I am here alone. I finally get it, my Mom was alone for so long once her daughters left home. Neither I or my sister ever got it, how hard it is to live alone, how scary it can be. How she struggled every day to keep going. Now I understand how happy she was to buy a home the next street over from me. She knew if she needed me, I was 2 minutes away.

She got to build a wonderful relationship with my son. The elementary school is at the end of our streets. She only had to walk across the street to bring him home when I was still working. They would have many great adventures, going to the park, cruising garage sales, playing with the neighbor kids. I also had the joy of going to get my grandson when he got out of school. The look of love and joy in a little face can not be forgotten. I was lucky enough to have that same gift for a couple of years, walking to school in the morning or picking him up depending on his parents schedule. Such a wonderful gift, such loved memories.

Now I realize how hard it is to be alone, no children to get from school, no long walks with Mom through the neighborhood. No reason to worry about dinner. No one to keep you going, now grounding point in your life. Day after day, so many of us have been left alone, not by choice but by fate. We do the best we can do but we are lost at sea, floating in a sea of sorrow, loneliness and anxiety. That was not the plan but is the truth of it. Still we continue to do our best, accept the cold hard truth. No, this is not what I pictured for my retirement but know there are many others in the same situation.
 
David777 said:
Nothing.

For decades I'd been taking off for extended periods between jobs while not collecting unemployment, living off savings, so was very familiar with long periods without the 8-5 m-f working drudgery.
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I have learned something important since becoming a senior that I didn't remember at the time of the above only briefly considered post as it is a unique event during all our lifetimes. Has its own major category mentally. It is something I will have far more wisdom and skill about dealing with if it happens again in the future. And that is society and culture life, personal safety in a serious Pandemic during this exploding Internet telecom age.

Even in such activities as fun. This small body aware person is most excellent, like a gymnast avoiding others walking and doing things about in urban areas including where there are crowds like music events. During the shelter in place period of the pandemic, additionally initially for the sake of regular exercise outdoors in the fresh air I love, I became most excellent at walking and going about in urban areas, keeping the 6 foot distance recommended per common sense, especially making use of open streets and roadside walkable spaces.

At times when people are not dense in an urban zone, moving about is like a street video game with runners, walking exercisers, dog walkers, people riding bikes, skateboarders, women with strollers, people fetching their postal mail, even a few like me that sometimes have always walked to nearby whatevers. Like flow to open sidewalks, parking lots, plazas, public parks, seasonally public open school grounds, and streetside areas, beside otherwise vehicle busy urban city streets and boulevards.
 
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Blessed said:
I still don't know how I got here. The time just flew by when my husband died. I have lived a life of in between for more than a decade. I tried to fill up the loss, my Mom came to live with me as she got sick. My son' s fiance and her son came to live with me. They all kept me busy, there was no time to grieve, fall apart.

Now they are gone, my Mom has passed, the kids were able to save and buy their own home. Now, I am here alone. I finally get it, my Mom was alone for so long once her daughters left home. Neither I or my sister ever got it, how hard it is to live alone, how scary it can be. How she struggled every day to keep going. Now I understand how happy she was to buy a home the next street over from me. She knew if she needed me, I was 2 minutes away.

She got to build a wonderful relationship with my son. The elementary school is at the end of our streets. She only had to walk across the street to bring him home when I was still working. They would have many great adventures, going to the park, cruising garage sales, playing with the neighbor kids. I also had the joy of going to get my grandson when he got out of school. The look of love and joy in a little face can not be forgotten. I was lucky enough to have that same gift for a couple of years, walking to school in the morning or picking him up depending on his parents schedule. Such a wonderful gift, such loved memories.

Now I realize how hard it is to be alone, no children to get from school, no long walks with Mom through the neighborhood. No reason to worry about dinner. No one to keep you going, now grounding point in your life. Day after day, so many of us have been left alone, not by choice but by fate. We do the best we can do but we are lost at sea, floating in a sea of sorrow, loneliness and anxiety. That was not the plan but is the truth of it. Still we continue to do our best, accept the cold hard truth. No, this is not what I pictured for my retirement but know there are many others in the same situation.
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Your situation was fate when it involves others in your life, but you have control of your life. That fate is only controlled by you. You accept the 'cold hard truth', that is only the truth if you accept it. Resigning yourself to that burdensome fate is what is sad here. You can change that, but only if you feel you deserve it. You are stronger than you think. Don't let your struggle become your identity. Faith, is when you think things will not be better again.
 
lol,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,in Wales,part of uk,,bus passes are given at 60,,got it,
in Wales,part of uk,retirement is 66
so its nothing to do with rich,poor or retirement in the uk,its where you live.
 
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