They Must Know We're Out There......

[Li H'Sen Chang]

I think that is right because elderly deserve to do what they want at the age of 80 or more. Most of my family die before reaching age 60 but that is why my father move to US for better life and longer life for us.

[Pumpkin_Man]

It's not just the length of one's life but the quality of life. I would rather have 40 or 50 high quality years then 80 or 90 years of being shuffled off to one nursing home after another, or being in and out of hospitals, with IVs comming out of both arms, no control over my bodily functions, and total dependence on others. That's a huge reason why my father opted against having that blood clot removed. Like I said, he would probably have lived to his mid 90s, because a lot of his aunts and uncles lived that long, but his mind would have gone. The hardening of his arteries would have made it impossible for him to even remember who we are, and he was already having bathroom problems before he was diagnosed with that blood clot. He knew that he was 'losing it," and he did not want to die as a bed ridden, drooling idiot, (his words, not mine) but as a man with some semblence of dignity. I hope I can do the same rather then end up in an uncaring nursing home, confined to a hospital bed, or dependent on other people to change my adult diapers.

Ther'e's A LOT to be said for a quick, clean, dignified death.

Mike

[Li H'Sen Chang]

Yes but the instinct of human is to live long life.

[Rising Dead Man]

Yes but the instinct of human is to live long life.

It doesn't look that way for everybody. I agree with Pumpkin_man.

[Spookymufu]

I think 70 (ish) yrs on earth is plenty, I dont want to live a really long time either, especially if I'm ill.

[Li H'Sen Chang]

Yes but the instinct of human is to live long life.

It doesn't look that way for everybody. I agree with Pumpkin_man.

Surviving is human instinct to be sure. But I understand that sometimes a life over at age 40 has accomplish more than a life of 80 so it all good.

[Murfreesboro]

Most of the people I observe who are centenarians actually seem to have a pretty good quality of life, and certainly their minds aren't gone. I don't think people who have that type of affliction are the ones who are destined to live to be 100.

There are many different ways to go. Not everyone dies a lingering, undignified death, not even among those who live to be old. One of my uncles died of a heart attack a couple of weeks before his 89th birthday. He had been out to eat with friends from church the night he died. He drove himself home to his apartment, which was in one of those retirement communities, but not a nursing home. He had the heart attack before he could shut the engine off. They found him like that the next morning. I'd say he lived right up to the last minute.

[Pumpkin_Man]

I'm not saying that elderly people cant and don't h ave a good quality of life. I know plenty of elderly people in their 70s, 80s and even 90s who have good lives and really enjly themselvs. My father, however, suffered from hardening of the arteries and frequenet strokes. For that reason, he was starting to have memmory problems, and he was becoming incontinent. He was afraid that he would end up the same way as my Grandmother (his mother) woule end up going. She did die a lingering death, totaly dimented, in a nursing home. I was about 17 the day she finaly died, and the image of her 89 year old frame lieing in that bed will be with me until the day I die.

Yes, if you have a good quality life, great. If I can live to be 80 or 90, without having to be dependent on others, not able to drive, or my mind going, then that would be great. If, however, I can't remember who my loved ones are any more, and I have to be confined to a nusring home because I have the mind of an infant, then it's time to go.

Mike

[Murfreesboro]

Well, I agree, Mike, there is no reason to wish to cling to biological life when all the things that make life worth living are gone. So far, the people in my family connection have been blessed in that they haven't experienced dementia of any sort. My husband's parents, on the other hand, both experienced a succession of strokes that greatly diminished the quality of their lives. Fortunately for them, neither of them lived for an extremely long time that way.

[Rising Dead Man]

Don't get me wrong. I would love to live over a hundred, on one condition. I wouldn't want to end up in a nursing home with other people changing me either.

[Li H'Sen Chang]

I will try to live at least 110.

[Pumpkin_Man]

Well, then I wish you all the best, and that if you do make it to 110, they will all be quality years.

Mike

[Rising Dead Man]

But I can't i live a lot longer?

[Li H'Sen Chang]

Well, then I wish you all the best, and that if you do make it to 110, they will all be quality years.

Mike

I know that i will die at 60 or 70 but I would rather live long and become very old.

[Pumpkin56]

Some interesting info there about the Yule Log. Thanks Murf!

I love decorating a Christmas Tree & can't wait to put this years up!

I'm off to do some Christmas shopping today. Gunna stop at Starbucks & treat myself to one of the their Christmas drinks - the Gingerbread Latte! I love that one!

I love the Starbucks Peppermint hot chocolate! My sister and I get some every year on our way to go look at Christmas lights. I think this year, we're going to bring our niece with us and let her have some hot chocolate too. I'll have to come up with a method of chilling it down quite a bit very quickly though--she'll probably only drink it if it's just slightly warm