Does anyone feel old and useless with age?

_Get It Together_ from Nolo Press is a workbook for organizing all the details that will need to be attended to after our death. There are other versions of this "After I'm Gone" kit.

After I completed the workbook and organized all the material into one notebook in a small fire safe I found my life was lighter. I also arranged my funeral with the Neptune Society. It was a good start in discerning what I can do in a world which I mostly cannot control.

It is something you can do, and perhaps your husband would also be interested.

Thank you, Ed. This is a very good idea. Oy. Before I can do that, though, I need to commence decluttering! Ha. I actually have a Peter Pauper Press book called "I'm Dead. Now What?" which is an info organizer, although it may not be as detailed as the Nolo Press book. (I've successfully used Nolo Press books in the past and found them extremely helpful and thorough.)

I have a number of good things in my life--I'm not as totally hopeless as my original post conveyed. I enjoy reading. I read an article recently about one or more studies indicating that reading fiction helped one in terms of loneliness. I also am trying to learn German--to the extent possible--with Duolingo; it's very challenging as well as frustrating. I waved the white flag just yesterday, only to poke around in Spanish a bit this morning and then return, fairly successfully--successfully enough to continue--to German. I wish I'd studied it in high school and college, but it wasn't an available elective in high school and if I recall correctly, it wasn't available at the colleges/universities I attended. We have a wonderful little dog, who is quite the presence in our house, even though she mostly naps and is quiet, unless she spots a squirrel or two out on the patio. I wish I could go on walks with her, but I can't--walking is painful for any respectable distance because of the spinal issues.

You are right about achieving some peace of mind with this activity of organizing as much information as possible in advance, and I thank you very much for your reply. I tend to get frozen in inaction (deer in headlights) when facing a monumental task; I suppose you can look at this project as a lot of smaller, discrete projects, right? (I'm trying to think of ways to mentally approach this so that it's not a paralyzingly, enormously overwhelming chore.)

Anything we *can* do is good! Overcoming inertia is very difficult. But one has to begin somewhere. Right now, I will begin by renewing a health newsletter that I've been postponing for over a month... thus clearing away exactly *one* decluttering task.

Thank you again for your most helpful reply, Ed. I wish you a very good day!

I don't have an answer. I love to hear from you anytime you wish. We can laugh on line and not care what others think. Anytime Day or Night. Consider us friends. I am 70..but , I am a caregiver and to me all people matter. I hope you write back. Love and 🫂

I will be 73 in June. Since I retired 10 years ago, I feel more and more invisible. People used to respect my opinion at work and outside of work. No one really wants to hear what I have to say. Now I know how my elders felt😢

I know what you mean. Just because we are older doesn't make us stupid, unable to do anything if we put our mind to it. If I was not a caregiver I would be doing more outside of our home. I remember day's when I wish I didn't have to go to work and sleep longer. Now I feel like I would love to be out working and the friendships were awesome. But it is what it is.☺️

Now that I'm an old man of 66, I know why as a kid I always thought old people were grumpy all of the time. It's because everything hurts.

I’m 74 years old and very pleased to be this age, sure I have problems, who doesn’t, even very young children have problems. I read an article that said only about 25% of the people in North America get past age 75, pretty daunting to read that, I guess I’m going to have to make this year count, 🙂

I say live life to the fullest. Go for a ride and look at nature. Go on a road trip and be light hearted and remember you still can do thing's
Age is a number and statistics are not always right. I plan on doing my best as long as zI possibly can. Hugs everyone 🤗

You have my attention . Write to me anytime.
I know we can laugh. Having other's who understand what some of us feel makes it easier
Love goes further when we care about other's and their well being
Even a kind word or experience that I can identify with...makes a difference ! 🫂 🤗

Aah, it can't be that bad.
As my Dad always said "I'm still on the right side of the dirt!" Yes, today, after 11 consecutive days of physical labor and just taking yesterday off, "everything hurts" - and I'm about to make it worse by going to PT for 2 bad shoulders, then coming home to mow lawn.
But I'm sitting across the table from my spouse of 53 years, exchanging remarks as we work on our computers. Yesterday I got to celebrate the 9th birthday of one of my two miracle grandchildren, and plan our first adventure for after school gets out on Friday. Next week we have a dear friend coming to visit for a few days. Life is good.