Glory Of Second Childhood

My dear Anna

Useful and excellent tips during second childhood. I am sailing in the same boat. Most of the points written by you I follow. Luckily by God's grace we are living alone and pray to God to j keep us healthy and strong till the end and not be dependent though children are loving and caring

 

The list appears to be desi-centric. For long time NRI's who had spent much of their life in cold climates, 60 is the new 40. At 60, Indian women look a lot younger than caucasian women of the same age. There is yet a lot more active life.

I have a few more to add to that list.:

1. Do not fall, because our bones are difficult to heal: Keep your bathroom floor clean/dry. Use hand-holds when entering potentially wet areas. When you go out in winters, remember that metal grates. and utility covers (cast iron) are more slippery than pavements. Take shorter steps on snowy or icy sidewalks. Take your skipoles with you when you go walking in winters. Give up skiing or ice skating at 60.... or even earlier.
2. Give up driving at 70 or thereabouts. It would be a lot cheaper to take taxi, or uber. Even in good weathers.
3. Eat a lot less, and be hungry if you can manage that. Eating out is OK. Go to posh restaurants, where portions would be small, and price will be high. You'd have a much better time. Eat variety, rather than one kind of food. "Four idlies not good, two idlies/vadai is good"-- is an adaptation of a George Orwell quote.
4. Do brain work -- crossword puzzle, reading PG Wodehouse, Tug-o'-war on internet social networks, are all good to keep the brain exercised. This is supposed to keep dementia at bay.
5. Do some daily exercise to bend, stretch, compress the old bones and muscles. There are plenty of exercises on the internet you can follow, and there are even smart phone apps that give you a 5 minute exercise that you can do twice a day.
6. Sleeping is not an easy thing to do. However, if you can do the exercise late in the evening, it might help. Get as much sleep as feasible.
7. Passwords -- devise a system to remember your passwords for important things -- bank, mobile, investments, what-have-you. This could vary from person to person.

 

@Cheeniya and @Amulet ,
excellent points for going through the after retirement stage of life.
Glad to think I am following more than 90 percent of the above.However, where it comes to major decisions of
staying independently etc, it works if the aged couple is on the same page regarding the arrangments. For men it is definitely very convenient living with the care and attention of the wife, sons, DILs in the same household. It is often the women who face the problem of division of work, kitchen arrangements, individual tastes etc , and here comes the problem having to adjust for the sake of the spouse.

 

There are a few things on the list of the OP (from the internet) that I do not agree with. Especially traveling together. I travel with my friends, sometimes on package tours, sometimes not. It is such a relief to not have to bother with an old one having to take care of an OLDER one, who is always whining about this or that. My recommendation for older couples is TRAVEL ON YOUR OWN, with your friends, and not with your spouse.

Anyhow... when men check out early, and leave the wife to deal with unfinished business, that is sad. That is the difficult part for the girls. And there is no escaping this. Life spans of men and women work that way on the average. Widows are many; widowers are not as many. Every fellow who cares for his wife will have to set the financial things in order so that his widow will not be destitute in her old age. And, IMO, that is Love. Not the Juliet-Romeo kind, who quit for stupid reasons.

 

Abnormal is new normal at and after 80!
Thanks and Regards