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Do you wonder how much time you have left?

(117 Posts)
Foxglove77 Fri 26-Mar-21 18:50:10

Without being morbid and in my late 50s I have been wondering how much time I may have left. 20 more Christmases? I know nothing is a given and I am grateful for the life I've had so far, but am just interested to know if this has crossed your mind and what your thoughts are?

EkwaNimitee Fri 26-Mar-21 18:57:47

I often do, being in my mid seventies. Thus I have tried to pack in as much travelling , my passion, as I could. Until COVID. I came off a holiday straight into a lockdown . So I feel I am wasting precious months of my life now not being allowed even to travel around my own country and not feeling safe to do so anyway.

Harris27 Fri 26-Mar-21 18:58:51

Don’t think about it too much as. It might depress me. However every time I’m shattered and feeling my job is taking it out of me I do think how much time I’ll have left. Make the most of every day all of you ladies out there.x

Kim19 Fri 26-Mar-21 18:59:22

Yes, it sometimes does in the most casual of ways. On each occasion I pull myself up with something I really 'should' do to make life easier for my children. I actually sometimes make a constructive move in that line. All good.

varian Fri 26-Mar-21 18:59:27

None of us know. So make the most of today and tomorrow.

Foxglove77 Fri 26-Mar-21 19:03:53

Harris27 yes definitely we should make the most of every day. I like this saying, yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift, that is why it is called the present.

M0nica Fri 26-Mar-21 19:19:06

I would think it is something that passes through most people's mind at various times in their lives. However I come from long-lived families on both sides, so have decided not to give it serious consideration until I hit 90.

Witzend Fri 26-Mar-21 19:21:55

Yes, especially since we were at a funeral this afternoon!
The chap was quite a bit older than me, though. But once you’re past your three score and ten, it can certainly occur to you now and then.

Marydoll Fri 26-Mar-21 19:23:46

I have a fair idea!

GrannyGravy13 Fri 26-Mar-21 19:25:01

Marydoll

I have a fair idea!

???? flowers for you dear virtual friend

Blossoming Fri 26-Mar-21 19:27:54

My neurosurgeon told me my life expectancy because I asked. It helped me make a decision about treatment. He may be wrong of course, but I’m fine with it. It’s helped us plan and I’m certainly not worrying about it.

Marydoll Fri 26-Mar-21 19:31:48

GrannyGravy, thanks. I'm not looking for sympathy, I'm just blooming raging, as there is so much I want to do! Blooming Covid has scuppered that!
You never know, miracles can happen!!! Carpe Diem!

crazyH Fri 26-Mar-21 19:32:22

Marydoll, that sounds ominous .....be positive.

Yes, I often wonder how much longer do I have to put up with this, or that, and then I think, this too shall pass and I’m sure I’ll live till hundred ?

Marydoll Fri 26-Mar-21 19:38:37

CrazyH, stoic and resilient, (admittedly grumpy tonight), but very realistic! wink It's who and what I am! grin

FlexibleFriend Fri 26-Mar-21 19:48:52

Yes of course I do and it's a double edged sword. On the one hand I'm still relatively young at 66 but I'm in so much pain every day and it's getting worse. I've already had 3 strokes thanks to my auto immune condition and I think I may have acquired a couple more (AI conditions) during lockdown. I also had a close shave with a massive internal bleed thanks to the meds that are meant to keep me alive. Also I've already lived far longer than both my mum and dad and neither of them had what I do. So yeah I'd like another twenty or so years but not sure I can cope with the pain or the disability that comes with it. Once lockdown is over I'll undergo yet more tests and see what's going on with my body, luckily my brain still seems to be functioning well.

Kate1949 Fri 26-Mar-21 19:50:58

All the time! I drive myself mad with it. I'm 71. My mother died at 58, my father 69. So I've done better than them so far.

Greyduster Fri 26-Mar-21 20:07:30

It does occupy my thoughts these days. My family are not noted for making old bones and at 74 I have stayed the course longer than my parents or any of my siblings did. There’s now a sense of borrowed time about it all.

Roses Fri 26-Mar-21 20:22:24

I have not read other replays but when my husband died after fourteen years of heart failure but totally unexpectedly on the day I spent two years thinking that I wold die very soon.

That was twenty years ago and I'm still here loving life , family ,and friends.

At first I didn't even think there was any point in doing any jobs in the house or garden but came to realise that I had to live my life in comfort and not in the past waiting to die

It was a very difficult time because I couldn't tell anyone how I felt and intrude on their grief

EllanVannin Fri 26-Mar-21 20:24:29

Now and again when I look at my bank balance grin

I've lived beyond dad's 3 score and ten as he used to say, he did actually die at 70. Mum was 67 and never really picked up after dad went.

Gannygangan Fri 26-Mar-21 20:26:20

It does cross my mind now and then

I am sure I read somewhere that only 4% of people aren't aware of their impending death which spooked me a bit.

I'm a bit head in the sand and would just like to pop off without any suffering.

Urmstongran Fri 26-Mar-21 20:47:46

I have health anxiety and yes, if I have unexplained symptoms I feel anxious. My father died from cancer at 47y and my mother at 86y three years ago. I’m bang in the middle of their ages right now.

Other times I look at my sweet grandchildren and think ‘how many more years with them? Will I see them leave school?’

I think all of us think about it to some extent. If I dwell on it, it either seems morbid or upsets me. So I pause, give it thought for a moment or two and continue on with thanks for all I have. What else can we do?

annsixty Fri 26-Mar-21 20:59:07

All the time and today I had another reminder when a friend rang and told me a friend of hers died yesterday.
I only met him and his wife twice but my friend talked about them regularly, they were in another “compartment” of their lives.
We talked about our own husbands and mutual friends ,all now gone.
I have been depressed all day.
It is now 21 years since I had BC, I asked the oncologist to be honest with me and he dismissed my questions with a laugh, saying, you won’t see 80.
That must have seemed so far distant as to stop me even thinking about it.
I have passed that by 3 and a half years, it still plays on my mind.
So yes, I do wonder how long I have left, some days, like today, more than others.

nadateturbe Fri 26-Mar-21 21:05:30

Yes I do. I try not to without much success. I do envy those with a strong faith. And I try to be happy and love my husband and children as much as possible.

BrightandBreezy Fri 26-Mar-21 21:07:27

I do think about this more than I used to. The youngest sibling in our family died 2 years ago at only 60 and I think that as well as the grief, this gave the rest of us a terrible shock. I think deep down we thought the eldest would go first ...not logical I know as who can say who'll remain healthy the longest but it has certainly made us all more aware of our mortality.

My dad died at aged 59 so at 69 I have outlived him by a decade. DM is still going strong at 90. I vie between being amazed I am still here and going to the opposite extreme of thinking I will make really old bones like dm.

As others have said we have to make the most of everyday and this has certainly been a challenge in lockdown.

PammyHoops Fri 26-Mar-21 21:17:08

I think about it quite a bit.
My grand parents on both sides died at 60 or just before and so did both of my parents. My brother died 2 years ago at 60 my younger brother had a heart attack last year at 56. I am 59 this year and have anticipated around 60. But it won’t stop me enjoying things while I can.