Jerry, Age 69
I stumbled onto this website..in my search for, what? I don’t know. I just turned 69 in November, and the first birthday that has traumatized me. I am having the worst time with it..reading some of the stories have helped me realize that I am not losing my mind. What I am experiencing is normal., or at least for some of us. I am seriously considering counseling. Other factors coming in to play are the fact that two of my dearest friends have moved away. One across country, the other a day away. Just a few yrs. ago my life was so very different. I have been widowed for 20 yrs. and was content with just my friends, social life. Now I am feeling such a void. My grandchildren who played a big part in my life are teen-agers and I am not as important to them. My own mother passed away last yr. as did my only sister a few yrs. ago.
Maybe I need a kick in the butt and stop self pity. Hope so cause this is not what I want out of the rest of my life. I intend to keep on with this site and try and be more positive.
Thanks for listening!
Jerry
Hello, as I see your comments were posted in Nov. 2011, I hope that by now you are starting to wake up and face the inevitable, we age, we have history (as you point out) but each day brings us a fresh opportunity to enjoy the natural world, good food, music, movies, etc. My only warning is: don’t worry about the bad stuff in the world, avoid romantic movies, stop taking walks down memory lane. Instead: please clean out your closets, get rid of stuff you don’t use, if you can afford it, go on an elder hostel trip, or, study Spanish in Mexico in one of the lovely colonial cities such as San Miguel de Allende or Oaxaca. Volunteer reading at your local elementary school, help out in an animal shelter — get outside of yourself. I’m 70 and trying to see my life in a positive way, for one, being grateful for what I have, accepting the fact that I am responsible for my own happiness. Be strong. Stay cool. All the best.
I’m having the exact same experience, Jerry…am so use to being ‘young’, don’t quite know how to handle this “about to turn 70 thing!” Hard to enjoy being in your late 60’s …for the ‘scary fact of being old’, and yes, 70 sounds “Old” to me, so did 60! I’m trying to adapt, not doing too well with it tho. My Husband died long ago, at only age 46, married again, but way too soon, and realized that I was then searching “for what I had”…it coulda worked, had I been able to give it a chance, but although I wanted that kind of Happiness again…I destroyed its chances, and now…sigh..I wish “I had put the past behind me and made it work.” And now……..I just don’t know…I look young still, but am not willing to go looking, and wouldn’t begin now to know where to look for “Happiness Again.” So, I feel as though I’m just “drifting” thru life now…the kind of Happiness I want, I suppose is gone forever…so see…”You’re not Alone” ! 🙂
You are definitely not alone.
I am facing 70 in May and totally freaked out about it.
It is messing with my perspective on life. I used to be life of the party, go to a lot of parties, perform music and be up for any adventure.
I went to Paris on my own last summer.
Now I feel like I am getting too old to do anything. I have no husband, boyfriend, or children.
I just don’t feel like there is life…a sense or wonder…a possibility of finding a mate…or much of anything in my future.
Maybe things will change, but this is where I am right now.
So, again, you are not alone!