Dell's Canadian Tails

Friday, June 18, 2010

Dell on Aging Gracefully & Decisions

You will recall I posted on Seniors' cottages/camps regarding taking charge of what to do with the family camp: keep it or sell.

Too many older folks give up their life at camp the minute they face their first serious health issue. If you had planned to spend your retirement at camp, as I have, there will be adjustments in areas such as mobility, maybe blood work on a regular basis, monitoring, prescriptions, appointments and the like.

Aging is a process: processes require time; usually, good decisions require time, too. My advice is this, "Don't rush into big changes the second your body starts to act up."

Naturally, there will be some who will suffer severe ongoing medical problems: giving up the camp will be a non-issue for them.

More often, a medical crisis will resolve or stabilize over many months. You will adjust to new medications, learn to live with some physical limitations and find new ways to do the things you formerly took part in. Given time, you might just discover you can continue your retirement plans after all, perhaps in a modified fashion.

In my case, I maintain a small apartment in a town almost an hour away. I spend most of my time at the lake. My camp uses satellite radio contact  [skype works for some], and manage to spend most of my time at the camp [pretty nice for a camp: most people would call it a cottage].

Aging Gracefully by Norma Roth, addresses typical preconceived notions on aging and then gets into what our Silver Generation can do to take charge of their lives, make good decisions and live independently with dignity. Ms. Roth offers sensible advice, bringing a sense of humour along with a whole new set of rules for seniors. Included in this book are her ten tips for keeping people off your back: I refer to them regularly.

I'm off now to take my power nap. If there isn't a crowd here tonight, I'll be surprised. The rain has passed and it's shaping up for a lovely evening.

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