Would you like to live to 100?

WWW2 has got it, elderly people who have lived a full life are just beautiful, warts and all.
Put it the other way around are you happy to know you will die within the next 5, 10 or 20 years? I would give anything to be healthy and live well past 100 years, but I already know there is no chance of that.

My grandmother lives until she was 103. She only had one child , my mother. She had a very simple live, always worked and walked everywhere until into her 90s. She had a good quality of life until around 8 months before her death . When she moved into a care home and needed help with dressing etc , my mother is still alive at 83 but does have myeloma, I'm 59 and have been living with rheumatoid arthritis for the last 5 years . So doubt I'll see that age

Some people just have "good" genes it seems to me.
My family (both sides) seem to die young. My husband's family (his mum's side) all live to be fully functioning much longer. None I know of died under 97 - the oldest is currently 109.

We don't get a choice really. It is what it is.

109! Wow

The longest living person I knew of lived until 104. Most of those years, quite well.

Can I ask are they Christians NotSpaghetti?
I think being able to live a peaceful life is helpful.

I can’t trawl through 1000s of photos to find it, but somewhere I’ve got a pic of a centenarian (who certainly looks her age) lighting a fag from one of her 100th birthday cake candles. 😂

Being a Christian is no guarantee of a peaceful life fancythat!

I suppose they would say so Fancy - Lutheran technically. I'm pretty sure they don't go to church though.

They don't live in the UK so feel fairly distant to me to be honest.

I did know my husband's grandfather though - he was the one who moved here - went in the sea every day till 99 - irrespective of the weather. My mother-in-law (his daughter) is 99 now.

When he died his older brother (on being told) said "Why? What's happened to him?". The assumption was it was an external event!

I was talking to a young woman the other day. Her Dad has had a stroke at 58 non smoker, fit and healthy, barely drinks.

His Mother is 92 and has smoked 40 cigs a day all her life and keeps her local shop going with her purchases of brandy! She is still as sharp as a tack with no health issues.

Germanshepherdsmum

Being a Christian is no guarantee of a peaceful life fancythat!

No

But you can get given God's peace about things.
Plus we are not supposed to be anxious.
We pray things to God.
I sometimes think of it as pass the parcel. Here is my worry type thing. Up to God what He then does about the situation. I have left it go. It has gone from me.

Primrose53

I was talking to a young woman the other day. Her Dad has had a stroke at 58 non smoker, fit and healthy, barely drinks.

His Mother is 92 and has smoked 40 cigs a day all her life and keeps her local shop going with her purchases of brandy! She is still as sharp as a tack with no health issues.

Just goes to show, so much of it is down to genes.
My lovely MiL did all the right things all her life and still succumbed to cancer in her 60s. Her apparently robust and healthy younger brother succumbed a couple of years earlier.

And yet their elder brother, who had always smoked like a chimney and was very keen on the booze, went on to his late 80s.

Hetty58

Generally, we're living longer - but with more years in poor health - so no, I don't see the point. If living becomes a miserable existence, full of pain, it's time to go.

That's exactly what it is like! Horrible ....

Unfortunately, fancythat, if you have a very stressful career God can’t take the stress away. I pray every night, but never for myself, only for others, as I was taught. However now that I have retired I have great inner peace and contentment; part of that I think is having no fear of death.

I am 75,live an active happy life.I don’t want to become housebound,I would hate that.

I am glad I don’t know anyone who refers to elderly people as repulsive or old crones!

Aveline

I was talking to a lady well into her 90s yesterday. She was very sad. Told me that she'd outlived all her friends and family of around her age so she doesn't have anyone to talk to about things that happened or were around in their shared past. She was philosophical and grateful for the care she's receiving in the NHS palliative card unit but is sad and lonely.

I went back to see this lady today as she was keen for company. However, she just collapsed and died yesterday. It was a shock as she was so apparently well yesterday. At peace now with all he friends and relatives.

Yes, of course. Why not?

Oh my goodness Aveline, that must have been a shock for you but how lovely you were able to have a conversation with her yesterday. It’s the way a lot of us would choose,

It was a shock but I was glad for her.

Aveline That's very sad and so nice that you were able to brighten her last days.

That's exactly the point I was trying to make.

MIL lived to 102, she lived in her own apartment until 98 when she came to live with us in our ground floor flat. At 98 she travelled to our daughter's graduation on the hottest day of the year, she absolutely refused to be left at home. She was active and totally capable mentally. She had all her own teeth, lovely skin, plenty of hair and really didn't look much different to when she was 80. She died at home with us there and had a good death, basically her heart just wore out. If I could be like that, I'd be happy to live to a 100, however, I doubt my teeth will last that long!

It all depends on quality of life, doesn't it. If I could be like I am now at 82 for the next 18 years, then yes. But realistically that's not likely! Ideally I would like to 'sleep away' while I'm relatively active and still me - although it would be a shock for the family. But selfishly I'd prefer them to be shocked than heaving a sad sigh of relief!

NO

Taichinan

It all depends on quality of life, doesn't it. If I could be like I am now at 82 for the next 18 years, then yes. But realistically that's not likely! Ideally I would like to 'sleep away' while I'm relatively active and still me - although it would be a shock for the family. But selfishly I'd prefer them to be shocked than heaving a sad sigh of relief!

I don’t call that selfish at all. Despite the initial shock, I’m sure most people would be happy for their relatives to drift away in their sleep, or go out like a light with e.g. a massive stroke.

Having had one parent die of cancer, and the other go on to 97 after around 15 years of dementia, I don’t mind admitting that I was almost envious of a friend whose still physically and mentally able mother died peacefully in her sleep at 94, having not even been ill beforehand.