Long life, or not?
By Arkine
@Arkine (216)
United States
April 26, 2011 6:07pm CST
I saw an article recently that stated there are more 100-year-old people in the US than there used to be. It got me to thinking, is it really good to live a long life?
I mean, most of us would like to live a long time, I guess, because most of us are afraid to die ... but, a lot of us also don't want to become incapable of taking care of ourselves, or worse suffering from some kind of dementia like Aluzhiemer's.
It's a strange question, though because I know of a couple that were both 98-years-old and still went out jogging every morning. Yet, some people are struck with a stroke or heart attack and are incapable of moving when they are only 60-years-old--yet, they still live for another 20-30 years, they just have to be taken care of in a nursing home or in a family member's home. I'm not saying this is a good or bad thing, I'm just making an observation.
I know this is somewhat of a touchy issue, but I'm just curious about what others think. :)
2 responses
@dreamy1 (3811)
• United States
27 Apr 11
I do not want to live a long time, I'm sorry I just do not. People in my family live a long time. I have relatives in their 80's and 90's. I don't want to live a long time especially if I get old, decrepit and sick. No offense to any 50 year olds on here but I think 50 is long enough.
@Arkine (216)
• United States
27 Apr 11
I'm thinking somewhere between 70-80 would be my ideal. I mean, my mother is 64 and she's still very active, so I'm hopeful that I will be too, but it seems that after about 70 things really start to slide down hill fast, especially if you have any kind of major medical problem.
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
7 May 11
Hi Arkine! I think you raise a very good question here. It is certainly dependant on a person's personal situation and desires. I have seen people age very gracefully and love to talk to them about their lives. Their personal accounts are sometimes very different than what we can learn in history books. Information is always better from "the horses mouth." I have also seen people that have suffered greatly with age and their stories can be heart wrenching and fulfilling all at the same time.
I think that life is a gift. I think that although we all have to go through changes and sometimes suffer, a long life is a blessed life. I am scared of growing older and what it has in store, but I am looking forward to watching my children grow and have lives of their own. I want to be a part of it all as long as I can. I do hope that I am not left in a nursing home all alone. I used to work in one years ago and there were families that never visited some and then there were families that were there often. I can not imagine how those people must have felt that were left there. The ones that had family visit were often pretty mad about being there anyway.
I guess the best thing that I can do is to arrange things now as best I can so that I can live in a manner I want when I reach that age. Is it a guarantee? No..we never really know..but I think it is worth the risk to see. Take care.
