How old is old? Patti and I are both 71.
Yes. We aren’t really that old it’s true. Hubby is 71 and I’ll be turning 69 in June.
However, once I turned 65 out of the blue I started to suddenly not feel too well and less energetic. When I get out of bed I feel like I got hit by a truck. I was always a morning person, but now it takes me quite a while to get moving.
Long story short, after being tested for female problems that were inconclusive, I actually ended up with spine surgery in 2023 that ‘caused another back issue which is unresolved. I haven’t slept well since. I’m never without some pain. Sometimes I limp.
I had to give up hiking with the local recreation club. Plus certain things like even dancing are harder for me now. Too much bending puts a strain as well.
Of course, my knees hurt, too. Lol!
This is the opposite of who I was only just a few years ago.
Then later I ended up with high cholesterol, and just recently high blood pressure ( I was always low - normal) and a chronic cough/ mucus problem ( supposedly is silent GERD). I’m on 4 meds after never being on any.
I have no stress and I exercise almost daily since I was 38 yrs old.
My husband has always had high blood pressure. He does his “steps” every day in the basement ( I kid you not. He doesn’t like the hills outside). He was never a high energy type, but he has always held his own stamina wise.
We both are starting to have vision issues- cataracts. His worse than mine. One of his eyes is very blurry. He’s waiting for a consultation appt. We avoid most night driving and also our energy levels are lower in the evening, though we’ve been at some neighbors’ house parties until past midnight a few times.
I’m impatient. He’s a bit better with that than me. We know our limitations, what we will or will not tolerate, and what we enjoy. We like to pace ourselves and try to avoid stress as much as possible.
With travel- Flying and everything it entails stresses me out. Too much traffic or crowds stresses both of us out. We like a more relaxed style of travel. That’s why we always liked timeshares, especially drive to ones.
Anyway, I guess I’m just not aging well. I compare myself to other people even much older than me and it truly depresses me because they seem to be much more energetic. My 76 year old neighbor friend is still hiking and traveling. My 87 year old neighbor is biking and walking up the steep hills around here. I walk for an hour outside and then I have to sit or lay down. My legs stiffen up. My back hurts.
So this is where we’re at now. Thankfully we’ve mostly seen and done what we wanted to, with just a few exceptions. Passports expire in 2026 and I doubt we’ll renew them. And no Real ID for us.
I don’t mean to sound like we’re decrepit. We push on and we still do quite a lot of stuff. It’s just on a different scale now.
