Big C said:
concordtom said:
Maybe she was thinking about break Strom Thurmond's record.
People don't like retiring and waiting until death. It's like giving up the vigorous fight for life.
Lotta truth to that, especially in our youth-worshipping society. Check out the life expectancy in a country like Japan, where they respect age. (Hint: It's a lot longer than here.)
Regarding Strom Thurmond, supposedly towards the end, in the middle of a dinner with a lot of people, he fell asleep, face-first in his plate. Hopefully they weren't having, like, a fish stew. I hope DiFi doesn't go out like that (although she already hugged Lindsay Graham in public, so... ).
My parents divorced when I was 8, and remarried. So, I had 4 parents. My stepdad died at 93 and the other 3 are currently late 70's early 80s.
It's been really interesting to watch them go through the aging process of decline, and discussing it with my best friend who is in the same situation.
I see the mental decline, sure. Forgetfulness, not as quick. That's not the issue for me.
Because of that, though, they should be turnover aspects of their "realms" to their more capable children, in my opinion.
Like, my mom struggles to manage her financial bill paying processes, and it just causes her stress. If she could trust, she could live a much higher quality of life. She's got deferred maintenance at her place. I could easily fix. She's got a property she needs to sell. But she doesn't yield control not only because of the desire for "control" but because, I've decided, if she gave up striving to manage things then it's like giving up, quitting, might as well die.
Same observation with all 4 of them.
I've decided that I'm going to do differently when/as I age. I'm going to recognize that there are areas I should yield so as to focus on the better aspects of life.
Like, strive in healthier ways than just constantly clutching the power button.
Hmmm. Maybe I'm not being as concise as I could be.
It's this, these people (my parents, old politicians) try to hang on as their old selves in an effort to stay alive, stay relevant. It gives them meaning and purpose.
But perhaps a better model is that of the aging pro athlete who decides to hang 'em up and immediately pivots to his next career, as it broadcasting or becoming a family man or being a product pitch man - as opposed to simply not having a clue.
These people I speak of have been mentally unprepared for what their second (senior) career might be like.
They are in denial of aging and transitioning out. Yet, that fight is, paradoxically, maybe what keeps them going and why they are still alive at all.
Am I making any sense here?
