I’m 59 and in good health. I don’t take any pharmaceuticals: I’m active and eat nutrition whole foods. I love life.
That said, I have no children nor does my brother (who is 57 and has bipolar disorder). Our mother is 89 and has always been physically and mentally active and is a positive happy person. Unfortunately, starting at 81 she underwent four major surgeries: a hysterectomy, two years later a hip replacement, another two years another hip replacement, then she got breast cancer at 87 with a diagnosis of two brain aneurysms and had a mastectomy two years ago.
She has always been independent, sufficient and strong, having raised us alone after our father died when we were teenagers.
After her second hip replacement surgery, her mental health started declining, having been affected by the anaesthesia. It has gotten worse and she has been diagnosed with dementia.
Watching our mother, a beautiful, vibrant, energetic and brilliant woman decline and lose her independence and ability to think properly and to manage her own finances (I now take care of everything as my brother doesn’t have the ability), is sad, painful and troubles me.
So now I think who’s going to care for me as my brother and I care for my mother?: the love and support we offer her.
I too have led a healthy life like my mother
and look at the result with my mom. Is this going to happen to me as well?
So to your point and conclusion of the survey: yes, I would live to live to past 100 in a healthy body with all my mental capacity, however, if I decline like my mother the answer is definitely no..
Janelle, I find it hard to look ahead, and also find that my perspective changes as I get older. Looking back, even at photos, 59 seems very young! Wishing you all the best.
Yes with the caveat of maintaining financial independence although this is less important than the key one for me which is maintaining cognitive ability. This is key!
I agree with @jancornall (above). It appears the conditions fall away as one gets older. Is that because you’re more optimistic about your ability to navigate the future. I’m nearly 77 and but with a few accommodations can definitely
I'm 85. My answer to this question "If you could guarantee cognitive health and financial stability, would that make living to 100 more appealing?" is ONLY IF MY CLOSE FRIENDS AND SIBLINGS CAN DO THE SAME.
Somehow I am not surprised that the result was nearly an even split. What I found fascinating is the 50s and 60s (where I am) were the least enthusiastic about living until 100.
Extrapolating from my own experience, perhaps this is the phase where one begins to really feel the effects of age on one's own body and mind. In today's demographics, we're often in the sandwich between children who are not yet fully launched and rapidly declining parents. My husband and I are on the cusp of retirement, and the fantasy of carefree years for the two of us seems to be just that: a fantasy. We are managing the affairs of three generations at the moment, which is not what we had hoped for at this point in our lives.
Finally, living to 100 in financial and cognitive health? For me, not enough. I would need to know that my physical health remains intact. Older? Slower? Fine. But a rapid physical decline often drags the mental and cognitive along with it. No thank you.
Caroline, you make an important point… and I’m pretty sure that would be true for me: a significant physical decline would be a real downer. On the other hand, I’ve read that those who survive a terrible accident (becoming a paraplegic, for example) are depressed at first, but then adjust and are surprisingly happy with their life.
So interesting! I didn't answer the poll because I couldn't decide. On one hand, I feel like the answer is "hell no!" given what I expect the state of the world to be in the next few decades. But, to actually commit to saying that I don't want to live to 100 feels like some sort of strange psychological barrier I can't bring myself to cross, even though all logic, for all the reasons you mention, point to no (I'm 53.)
didn’t allow for all the considerations… but I did it on purpose! It was a kind of a back-of-the napkin way of finding out what’s in people’s heads. And of course you could expand on your answer with a longer comment!
Great to see the results Deb, glad I took part! So interesting that the lowest percentage wanting to live longer were among 50s and 60s age group, being in that serious ageing transition period. Then as you go on you change your perception of what it means to be ‘old’. At 75 I’m still happily in denial even though there’s plenty of age related changes to come to terms with.
Debbie, it's all your fault! Without you and your viewpoint I would have paged past substack and never knew what I was missing. roaring laughter, here. I have a comment, in reply to your One Hundred query; it is several pargraphs and more personal than I care to publish. If you wish to read it, can you send me a private hotlink? please and thank you, thelma scudi
It would be fun to know what is on someone's bucket list. So if we're not going to live to 100, what do we want to do before then? I plan to write something similar to this today (my birthday), but it would be cool to see what your subscribers think.
That would be a fun poll! But maybe they should be specific. Instead of "travel" they should say "Go to Greece" ... It might make my bucket list longer, though!
I found it very fascinating to see the results by age bracket, Debbie. When I completed the survey, I went back and forth on 'yes' or 'no' as my answer. I think I landed on 'yes' because I thought about my children (and future grandchildren?). I'm 38 and have two daughters, ages 3 and 5, so my heart is all wrapped up in them right now--it's a season of grueling challenge and immense joy. However, I think that if I were older, I would have probably responded 'no.' The more I think about the decline of my body and my mind towards the end, the more I feel pulled toward the answer of "no, thanks." I have been thinking especially about this topic since my interview with @Mills Baker. His father chose to end his own life after experiencing significant cognitive decline. I appreciate Mills' candidness on the subject of grief and suicide and encourage everyone to have a read. Thank you for all your hard work here! It certainly is an interesting topic to explore.
Fascinating. At 70, my response would be "it depends." If I am able to remain mentally and physically healthy, sure. If my mind goes and/or my body breaks down at a higher rate than it is now, then no. My mom died at 78; I won't be ready then. My dad died at 93 and it was hard for the last year (he broke his hip and ended up moving from one rehab center to senior living, to assisted living...) But I still feel like there's so many places to go and things to see...
![[B]OLD AGE with Debbie Weil](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!i8Z0!,w_80,h_80,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdaaca764-d8d6-4a1b-bf58-61dbb72810fc_842x842.png)
![[B]OLD AGE with Debbie Weil](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!i8Z0!,w_36,h_36,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdaaca764-d8d6-4a1b-bf58-61dbb72810fc_842x842.png)
![[B]OLD AGE with Debbie Weil](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fEcd!,e_trim:10:white/e_trim:10:transparent/h_72,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F95ad4442-e435-4ebc-a8d2-9c9b89a8bdb6_2100x400.png)
I’m 59 and in good health. I don’t take any pharmaceuticals: I’m active and eat nutrition whole foods. I love life.
That said, I have no children nor does my brother (who is 57 and has bipolar disorder). Our mother is 89 and has always been physically and mentally active and is a positive happy person. Unfortunately, starting at 81 she underwent four major surgeries: a hysterectomy, two years later a hip replacement, another two years another hip replacement, then she got breast cancer at 87 with a diagnosis of two brain aneurysms and had a mastectomy two years ago.
She has always been independent, sufficient and strong, having raised us alone after our father died when we were teenagers.
After her second hip replacement surgery, her mental health started declining, having been affected by the anaesthesia. It has gotten worse and she has been diagnosed with dementia.
Watching our mother, a beautiful, vibrant, energetic and brilliant woman decline and lose her independence and ability to think properly and to manage her own finances (I now take care of everything as my brother doesn’t have the ability), is sad, painful and troubles me.
So now I think who’s going to care for me as my brother and I care for my mother?: the love and support we offer her.
I too have led a healthy life like my mother
and look at the result with my mom. Is this going to happen to me as well?
So to your point and conclusion of the survey: yes, I would live to live to past 100 in a healthy body with all my mental capacity, however, if I decline like my mother the answer is definitely no..
Janelle, I find it hard to look ahead, and also find that my perspective changes as I get older. Looking back, even at photos, 59 seems very young! Wishing you all the best.
Yes with the caveat of maintaining financial independence although this is less important than the key one for me which is maintaining cognitive ability. This is key!
Mary, I agree with you on the relative importance of those two variables.
I agree with @jancornall (above). It appears the conditions fall away as one gets older. Is that because you’re more optimistic about your ability to navigate the future. I’m nearly 77 and but with a few accommodations can definitely
See 100 candles in the future.
I'm 85. My answer to this question "If you could guarantee cognitive health and financial stability, would that make living to 100 more appealing?" is ONLY IF MY CLOSE FRIENDS AND SIBLINGS CAN DO THE SAME.
Somehow I am not surprised that the result was nearly an even split. What I found fascinating is the 50s and 60s (where I am) were the least enthusiastic about living until 100.
Extrapolating from my own experience, perhaps this is the phase where one begins to really feel the effects of age on one's own body and mind. In today's demographics, we're often in the sandwich between children who are not yet fully launched and rapidly declining parents. My husband and I are on the cusp of retirement, and the fantasy of carefree years for the two of us seems to be just that: a fantasy. We are managing the affairs of three generations at the moment, which is not what we had hoped for at this point in our lives.
Finally, living to 100 in financial and cognitive health? For me, not enough. I would need to know that my physical health remains intact. Older? Slower? Fine. But a rapid physical decline often drags the mental and cognitive along with it. No thank you.
Caroline, you make an important point… and I’m pretty sure that would be true for me: a significant physical decline would be a real downer. On the other hand, I’ve read that those who survive a terrible accident (becoming a paraplegic, for example) are depressed at first, but then adjust and are surprisingly happy with their life.
So interesting! I didn't answer the poll because I couldn't decide. On one hand, I feel like the answer is "hell no!" given what I expect the state of the world to be in the next few decades. But, to actually commit to saying that I don't want to live to 100 feels like some sort of strange psychological barrier I can't bring myself to cross, even though all logic, for all the reasons you mention, point to no (I'm 53.)
Thank you for this opportunity to ponder more!
Kate, I realize the answer of YES or NO
didn’t allow for all the considerations… but I did it on purpose! It was a kind of a back-of-the napkin way of finding out what’s in people’s heads. And of course you could expand on your answer with a longer comment!
Great to see the results Deb, glad I took part! So interesting that the lowest percentage wanting to live longer were among 50s and 60s age group, being in that serious ageing transition period. Then as you go on you change your perception of what it means to be ‘old’. At 75 I’m still happily in denial even though there’s plenty of age related changes to come to terms with.
If cognitive health and financial stability were guaranteed, then sure. But sadly, they are not guaranteed.
I want to live for the duration of my healthspan. That's the ideal, but who knows?
Hi, what an interesting poll. I want to live to be 100, provided I maintain good mental and physical health and can afford to take care of myself.
Debbie, it's all your fault! Without you and your viewpoint I would have paged past substack and never knew what I was missing. roaring laughter, here. I have a comment, in reply to your One Hundred query; it is several pargraphs and more personal than I care to publish. If you wish to read it, can you send me a private hotlink? please and thank you, thelma scudi
Thelma, email me at debbieweil@substack.com!
This is great. Kind of makes sense that the older we get the further out we're willing to go, if all is ok.
It would be fun to know what is on someone's bucket list. So if we're not going to live to 100, what do we want to do before then? I plan to write something similar to this today (my birthday), but it would be cool to see what your subscribers think.
Mimi, what a great follow-up question! Maybe another [B]old Age poll - ?!
That would be a fun poll! But maybe they should be specific. Instead of "travel" they should say "Go to Greece" ... It might make my bucket list longer, though!
I found it very fascinating to see the results by age bracket, Debbie. When I completed the survey, I went back and forth on 'yes' or 'no' as my answer. I think I landed on 'yes' because I thought about my children (and future grandchildren?). I'm 38 and have two daughters, ages 3 and 5, so my heart is all wrapped up in them right now--it's a season of grueling challenge and immense joy. However, I think that if I were older, I would have probably responded 'no.' The more I think about the decline of my body and my mind towards the end, the more I feel pulled toward the answer of "no, thanks." I have been thinking especially about this topic since my interview with @Mills Baker. His father chose to end his own life after experiencing significant cognitive decline. I appreciate Mills' candidness on the subject of grief and suicide and encourage everyone to have a read. Thank you for all your hard work here! It certainly is an interesting topic to explore.
Interesting results!
1. If health and wealth were guaranteed, and, Jew hatred dissapated, then yes, I’ll hang around. I do believe it’s ultimately up to G-d.
Fascinating. At 70, my response would be "it depends." If I am able to remain mentally and physically healthy, sure. If my mind goes and/or my body breaks down at a higher rate than it is now, then no. My mom died at 78; I won't be ready then. My dad died at 93 and it was hard for the last year (he broke his hip and ended up moving from one rehab center to senior living, to assisted living...) But I still feel like there's so many places to go and things to see...
Anne, I am so with you!
Very interesting!