How do you define your freedom? What does freedom mean to you as you age? Do you feel more restricted and less free than in your younger years?
As you find yourself increasingly dealing with age-related issues and decisions that may change how you think and live now and in your future, we invite you to share your comments on growing older and how it’s affecting your outlook on life. To kick-off the conversation, Eileen Marcus shares her thoughts below.
FREEDOM’S JUST ANOTHER WORD …
… For nothing left to lose. That was my mantra for life. When I was young, it meant way open vistas of life unlived, people I hadn’t yet met and loved, and places still to be seen and experienced. Freedom was all that and the knowledge that I had years to do it all. But with this view from the other side of sixty, freedom has new meaning for me and not all of it positive.
Fancy word meisters and self help gurus can say that the best is yet to be, sixty is the new fifty and other feel good platitudes but truth is my freedoms have narrowed. Due to aging, mobility, financial setbacks and divorce, I’m limited by my remaining years and what needs to be done in preparation. Long term care, living wills, medical directives – all are important if my children are to have the same freedoms I had in my youth. My parents had each other and financial stability. I have just me and my memories of freedoms won, lost and enjoyed. I want to give that same gift of freedom to my children.
In the midst of all these important choices about my future, I’ve found resources on AARP’s Web site invaluable. If you haven’t made decisions about long term care, the legal aspects of aging and what it can mean for your children, the site is worth a visit.
-Eileen Marcus
Comments (1)
Hi Eileen,
Another issue related to freedom as boomers age is the use of monitoring devices that record how many times the medicine cabinet is opened, the toilet is used, and so on.
While useful, some older people think this type of monitoring is an invasion of their privacy.
Rita blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide
Posted by Rita | January 4, 2010 7:54 PM
Posted on January 4, 2010 19:54