what would it be? ~Lisa


I'd have to say it frightens me to think of being by myself...I mean, outliving everyone...if my husband were dead, my parents were dead, my best friends were dead...I just think that would be terrible having no one to talk to or do things with...It just makes me sad thinking about it. Sorry if I'm depressing anyone today!

My fear would be having a sharp mind but a body that would not work.

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Mary

I hate to see my DD grow up. She is 11 and I want to keep her at that age forever. The other kids are 18, 19 & 20 and it is neat (sometimes) to see them growing into adults. I want her to stay my baby.

I think I worry most about how my back will do in the future- I have had 3 major back operations. I still work every day as a nurse but I have some good and some not so good days. I have a lot to do and need my back to keep up so that in the future I will be able to stay very active and enjoy all the grandchildren these 4 are going to give me!!

Losing either my mind or my body. I wouldn't want to go on living if I lost the use of my body and couldn't get around anywhere...that isn't really living. I am also afraid of losing my mind...who wants to live and not be the same person they once were? Those are the things that scare me the most because it seems that nowadays no one just grows old and dies in their sleep. There are all types of things that can leave you incapacitated and without full mental capabilities. It is just scary to think about.

Losing my mental abilities.
I took care of my mother when she didn't know who I was or where she was and it was just too sad.
If she would have known at the time that she was like that she would have been so embarassed.
I didn't mind taking care of my mom, but I don't want my kids to have to go thru that with me.

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Square dancing is friendship set to music!

I do worry about growing old and the changes that it will have on my body and my mind but I would have to say that my biggest fear and worry about aging is that I will outlive my husband.

We married when we were 18 and have been married for just about 18 years. I can't imagine a day that he isnt here and sometimes now will worry about it (see previous post about my dads anxiety issues, I think he passed them on to me).

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Sell crazy some place else, we are all stocked up here.

One word, arthritis.

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I've never lied to you. I've always told you some version the of truth.

Living alone.
Having someone stick me in a hospital with tubes stuck in every hole.I don't want anything to do with doctors,I don't want a bunch of drugs pumped through me daily and I will die before anyone sticks a cathater in me!I want to die a natural death ,so unless its something to put me to sleep ,get the he!! away from me.,lol. I wouldn't want to be one of those old ladys forced to wear a restrainer all day but if you mess with me I WILL bite your nose off,lol !

Being all alone..........When we visit nursing homes I see so many of it's residents who get absolutely no visitors and I hate to think that I could end up like that

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"You can never really pay back. You can only pay forward."

Wayne Woodrow “Woody” Hayes

O-H-I-O

So many of y'all are scared of being alone. Last year in August I lost my Mom and my boyfriend of 17 years left me. I am a only child. My Dad died when I was 20.
I do have a Aunt and cousins here in town and have very little to do with them, but that's another topic.

I'm only 40 and it was scary being alone... but you know what. I made new friends! It was a time to renew my life and start making new friends and having new experiences! My point is.. being alone, isn't as scary as people think.. no matter what age

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Support bacteria -- it's the only culture some people have!

If Vegetarians eat Vegetables. Do Humanitarians eat Humans?

'Vegetarian' is an old Native American word for bad hunter.

Your response made me so sad. How touching that you were the one to care for your mom in the end.

I know you don't want to think that your kids would ever go through this with you, but if they ever had to, I'm sure they would be so loving, as you were.

I think of my old aunt who passed away a few years ago - she had no children, and was in a nursing home. She didn't know where she was. In addition to losing some of her mental functioning, she was a demanding person by nature. She had no kids of her own - I always felt extra sorry for her, since the people taking care of her obviously didn't love her, so was she getting the best care? Did she have as dignified an ending as possible? Your mom was lucky - she was in good hands. What a gift you gave.

WOW!!! Thanks for this! Glad you could make a fresh start, and that you're able to be happy. That is really inspiring.

We eventually had to move my mom to a nursing home.
MIL was also there (by her own choice and in her own mind) so we visited almost every day.
I did not want to do this but I lost the war against my DH and my brother.
She was only there for about 3 months before she passed away. My brother and I and my DD were with her when she left us, so she was not all alone.
I'm so sorry about your aunt. Nursinghomes are necessary but not the best place to have to be.

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Square dancing is friendship set to music!

Getting Alzheimers. It runs in our family -- my mom and her two sisters all had it. It's a horrible disease that robs you of your dignity and everything and there's nothing you can do about it.

The hardest thing was watching my grandfather go blind, he couldn't drive or read anymore and that would prpbably be the end of me, having to give up going out and then not being able to stay home and read myself to another place, kwim?

My family all lives to be over 100 or at least close and they have a pretty good quality of life, so I think I would worry about not having enough money to afford what I need for that long of a period.

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"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." ~ Bernard Meltzer

That's what I am afraid of, too. Being a burden to my kids ...

Ditto - you summed it up my sentiments exactly.

I worry about how I will take care of my oldest DD who is mentally handicapped.

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Mom to Katie 1/95 and Sara 5/97

That my husband will be the first to die and I will be alone and my kids will be in other states.

I don't want my kids to move away.

Wrinkles scare me.

I don't want to go to the doctor constantly.

Not able to drive and have my independence.

Not being a "cool" grandma.

Getting cranky and pushy just like those old people I meet up with at Walmart and I don't want to act like the world owes me something because I am old.

I work with the elderly. I am a nurse at an assisted living facility. I see first hand what it is like for many elderly people. The facility I work in also has a locked memory unit, for residents with advanced dementia. I worked there this evening, in fact. It is so sad. Some of our residents in that unit were so successful and vibrant in their younger years. These are a very special catagory of people. I care for them so much.

Not being able to grow old!! My Mom was 42 when she died, way too young. I want to be able to see my grandchildren, be close to my daughters, and watch my son grow up(I had him when I was 40). I want so much to be there for them when they are grown!!

That my boobs will get burnt on the stovetop one day.

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

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Mary

having to wear depends
falling
losing my mind

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What do you consider old? 50? 60? 70?

I think I'm more afraid of not growing old than anything else. At the rate I'm going, it's a possibility! LOL

But I would also say being alone.

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Forgiveness is love in its most noble form. -Anonymous

I was thinking mid 70's...if we all make it there...The way we're all carrying on, there's no telling what's going to happen! Someone on here is likely to have a stroke or heart attack with all the flaming and bitchiness lately! ~Lisa

what frightens me is EVERYTHING I see so much my grandmas cant do anymore or at least shouldnt be doing!!! Also I am scared of the way I will look I dont ever want to look old I am sure I am already looking older but I dont want too I hate it

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mom of 3 greats girls

I'm not afraid of growing old. Its dying that scares me esp. when my children already said they are going to pick out my final outfit. When my grandma died, they went with me to get her outfit to be burried in, and to try and cheer me up they kept arguing over what to get. My DS wanted her in a football jersey, my oldest DD wanted an outfit from hot topic and my youngest wanted to get her great-grandma a prom dress and dress her like a princess They told me (and my oldest DD keeps reminding me) that i am going to burried in a football jersey, baggy pants with chains, ballerina slippers and a tiara. i just hope when I do get old, i don't get dementia. My grandma had it and it was sad seeing her and her not remembering much.

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~~~~**Maryann**~~~~

I just got a firm grip on reality....
Now I can strangle it

I'm not really afraid of getting old. I'm more afraid of my husband dying.

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Brenda

GO #24 JEFF GORDON

That's pitiful! You have a lot of people praying for your family and hoping for the best.

The thing that worries me most about getting old is that I'll end up in a nursing home where they treat you like a child. I would hate to want a candy bar and have somebody tell me I can't have one because it will ruin my dinner. I would hate it if I wanted to be outside on a crisp, fall day and somebody half my age says no, because I might catch a cold. I've seen that happen to the elderly and I would hate to be at the mercy of somebody else and be too weak and frail to do anything about it.

Regret. I don't want to regret not doing something. I want to take advantage of everything that comes my way. I don't to talk to people about the should've, would've, could've. I'm afraid of missed oppertunities.

I told my oldest ds if I lose my mind, through dementia or altzheimers, to not feel bad about putting me in a nursing home, and not to bother visiting me if I dont know who he is. I dont want to be a burden in his life. I guess thats my biggest fear.