My Top 10 Fears About Growing Old
Can you tell I have a few fears about growing old? I do. I decided today to face up to them and reveal them publicly for the very first time. Here goes:
10. Losing my energy
9. Running out of money
8. Not being able to read (due to lack of concentration)
7. Getting fat
6. Being house-bound
5. Skin tags
4. Polyester pants
3. Living in a nursing home
2. Needing a wheelchair
and — DRUM ROLL! –
1. OLD LADY ARMS
I have been searching for years for a solution to Old Lady Arms and I think I’ve finally found it. These exercises. (I don’t have Old Lady Arms yet; this is a precaution I will take.)
I would love to know what YOUR greatest fears are about getting old.
Thanks to That’s Fit for putting my mind at ease and for the photo.
March 28th, 2007 at 9:42 am
What I fear most about growing old is…Becoming a living vegetable that someone, anyone must provide constant care for. Whether a loved one is burdened with it or must worry about paying for a nursing home, it’s what I fear most.
I’m 66 now and a few of the things I was fearful about have already come to pass. They tell me it happens to everyone but I’m not too sure about that. For some reason I am not comforted by the knowledge that others are in the same boat with me.
March 28th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
The only thing that bothers me about getting old is developing Alzheimer’s, not that I would know anything about it of course, but to become a burden on my loves ones would be the worst. Other than that I’m content to grow old disgracefully!
March 28th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
I’ve always had a terror of dying – from the time I was a kid – and it still terrifies me. Now, I worry more about dying alone without someone to comfort me than I do just about dying. Other than that… hmmmm…. there must be a list in my head; I’ll have to write it, I guess.
March 28th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
What are skin tags?
March 28th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
A few of your fears are well founded and you still have time to take care of those…like money, and the nursing home thing….I fear those as well. I also fear dying away from my children or totally alone, having my spouse die before me, and being house bound …polyester…never, old lady arms, got em so what, skin tags can be taken off…..concentrate about the money and the rest can be managed.I agree with Clarence’s last paragraph.
March 28th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
My biggest fear comes from watching my dad and then my mom develop senile dementia. While not Alzheimers, it does rob you of all short term memory and slowly your memories drift back until you can only remember things in your long ago past. Both parents lost their interest in reading as they could no longer remember the plot and characters of a book from sitting to sitting. I can’t imagine and don’t want to experience life without the joy of reading.
March 28th, 2007 at 7:27 pm
Two words…man boobs!
March 28th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
I’m not really all THAT old yet but I have already hit a few of those things on your list … sigh …
Working for a commercial ambulance service, we have a lot of elderly patients and I get to hear a lot of medical histories that make me just wish for a nice, quiet death in my sleep. It’s downright scary what happens when people age.
That said, my very biggest fear is that I will die before ever finding someone who loves me and I’ll leave this life more or less alone. Sure, I’ve got kids but it’s not the same thing. This may sound crazy but I want someone to share a plot with.
March 28th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
Frankly, the main aging disability I fear is continually diminishing eyesight. Having worn glasses since I was 6 years old (damn, that means I’ve been wearing them for 40 years!) semi-constant computer use seems to have hastened their continual weakening. Not being able to read or continue my photography (not to mention things like driving) scare me witless. That’s not to say that I won’t be able to see functionally until the day I die, but it’s the kind of thing I tend to freak out over when I think about it.
Oh, if it’s okay, I consider myself a ‘tweener more than a boomer.
March 28th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
Arthritis getting worse; dementia like my Dad; finances. But I don’t really worry much. Too busy for that.
March 28th, 2007 at 11:08 pm
Rhea, I know a woman ten years older then you that works out with small weights. She works other programs as well. Her arms are very toned. Hit the gym. You will be surprised how good you will feel. yourdrum
March 29th, 2007 at 12:54 am
OMG I am so trying out those arm exercises. I was checking mine out in the mirror this morning and all I can say is ACK! Thanks!
March 29th, 2007 at 2:35 am
Thank you SO much for confirming that I am OLD.
10. Losing my energy—YUP
9. Running out of money—YUP
8. Not being able to read (due to lack of concentration)–Not Yet, Phew
7. Getting fat–Getting? GETTING?
6. Being house-bound– YUP
5. Skin tags– YUP
4. Polyester pants—NO WAY
3. Living in a nursing home–Not yet, but my son is currently threatening
2. Needing a wheelchair–sometimes
and — DRUM ROLL! –
1. OLD LADY ARMS—YES!
I guess it’s time to bury me in the back yard, huh?
March 29th, 2007 at 7:41 am
Losing some part of me due to illness.
Having vision deteriorate to the point where reading becomes more of a pain than a pleasure.
Losing my self-image of a 17-year-old. This happens every time I look in a mirror, but I’m still able to recapture it when I stop looking. I fear that soon the image I see in the mirror will become way too wrinkled and white-haired to allow me the mental deception.
March 29th, 2007 at 8:24 am
Clarence and Akel: I’m with ya.
Les: I used to be really afraid of dying, when I was younger. I have sort of lost that fear.
Fortyniner: Oh, skin tags. I’ve actually written about them a few times. They are those little pieces of skin that start growing on you for no reason at all. They can appear anywhere.
Rosemary: Sound advice.
Joan: Sorry to hear about your parents’ health. I am with you on the reading thing.
Wesley: Ha! Now, why didn’t I think of that!?
Linda: I hear ya!
Tony P.: You are a young’n!
Anvil: Stay busy. A good distraction.
Yourdrum: Good to hear!
Laurie: Me, too.
Margalit: I think ya have a few good years left in you.
March 29th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
I hadn’t even thought about flabby triceps and now it has moved to #1.
March 29th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
Rhea,
Wow, all those fears!
What I once feared is the inevitability of aging based on a genetic blueprint. Well, no more! I’ve been reading “Successful Aging” by John Wallis Rowe, M.D., and Robert L. Kahn, PhD. The authors write about the findings of the MacArthur Foundation Study of Successful Aging.
I now see that much of our aging is under our own control!
This is a book every Boomer should read!
Ciao
March 30th, 2007 at 8:00 pm
What I hate about aging is that I feel my time running out.
What I love about aging is that I don’t care much any more about how I look or what people think of me.
April 9th, 2007 at 10:55 pm
I am scared – when I think that I will no longer be here one day I get very upset and fear that I am wasting my time. What do I do anyway? I go to work everyday and come home. I am wasting my youth and I will never be able to get it back. In this society, youth is worshiped and yet I am fearful that I am loosing precious time. I worry that I will never meet my life mate, that I won’t have a family, that my life will have no real joy. I want to press pause and I can’t. I want to press rewind and do things differently. Life is so strange – human behavior in this day and age is horrible- we need to take a giant step backwards and look at the big picture…i need hope and inspiration…I know this is supposed to come from religion, but i just can’t see how that can help.
September 12th, 2007 at 10:03 am
[...] To be honest with you, had I not been writing this baby boomer blog for the past year and a half — thereby immersing myself in all manner of aging stuff, including the dreaded skin tags — I would have been devastated to receive this mailing. [...]
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September 21st, 2009 at 1:39 pm
[...] I’m not complaining. I know I’m super-lucky. But let me reprise my Top 10 Fears About Growing Old here: Losing my energy Running out of money Not being able to read (due to lack of concentration) [...]