What's Something You Experienced For the First Time in Your Later Years?

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Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
61,289
239,271
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
...went to Nursing school at 42.....

I went to nursing school at 35.

I have not done this yet - should I wait until I am 60?

(not sure if I could handle the blood and guts and well... you know - all those other bodily fluids!

(but I do respect you guys very much - a big thank you!~) - the nurses on Andy's ward were excellent - both female and male.
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
I have not done this yet - should I wait until I am 60?

(not sure if I could handle the blood and guts and well... you know - all those other bodily fluids!

(but I do respect you guys very much - a big thank you!~) - the nurses on Andy's ward were excellent - both female and male.
...why thank ya!....most "material" doesn't faze me....but I will confess "spew" is my kryptonite....I can deal with it, but it makes my gorge rise....
 

Shoesalesman

Well-Known Member
Aug 12, 2010
1,814
4,093
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Sitting and listening to older folks.

Hated it when I was a kid, didn't see the merit, was very boring.
Then when I turned forty, I found myself seeking out uncles and aunts and family friends who were in their sixties & seventies, just listening to them share stories and laugh. This was something that I really didn't do until recent years.

Internet has nothing on Eldernet for things that'll prepare you for life.
 

Pucker

We all have it coming, kid
May 9, 2010
2,906
6,242
62
Sitting and listening to older folks.

Hated it when I was a kid, didn't see the merit, was very boring.
Then when I turned forty, I found myself seeking out uncles and aunts and family friends who were in their sixties & seventies and just listening to them share stories and laugh. This was something that I really didn't do until recent years.

Internet has nothing on Eldernet for things that'll prepare you for life.

When my grandfather died at the perfectly reasonable age of 83, his older brother -- the last of his generation -- stood up at the memorial and recited a poem: The Cremation of Sam McGee, if you know it. It's a funny poem about aspiration and relative comfort and a whole bunch of other stuff, but that's not why I remember it.

It was the actual act of standing up and reciting which struck me. I was 28 years old when this happened, and could remember public speaking from school, but it took me a while to understand what Uncle Fred was doing. You see, that was the way they entertained each other when he was a kid. I grew up on television -- for good or bad -- and my father's generation would have been more comfortable with radio, but his father's generation were taught to entertain each other. Some played musical instruments or learned the fashionable dances . . . and those who were less artistically inclined could at least stand up and recite.

I wonder now, thinking back on that, how many of my contemporaries in that room understood exactly what was happening, but I have always treasured that moment. I didn't know Uncle Fred very well, but he gave me a valuable gift that day.
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
61,289
239,271
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
When my grandfather died at the perfectly reasonable age of 83, his older brother -- the last of his generation -- stood up at the memorial and recited a poem: The Cremation of Sam McGee, if you know it. It's a funny poem about aspiration and relative comfort and a whole bunch of other stuff, but that's not why I remember it.

It was the actual act of standing up and reciting which struck me. I was 28 years old when this happened, and could remember public speaking from school, but it took me a while to understand what Uncle Fred was doing. You see, that was the way they entertained each other when he was a kid. I grew up on television -- for good or bad -- and my father's generation would have been more comfortable with radio, but his father's generation were taught to entertain each other. Some played musical instruments or learned the fashionable dances . . . and those who were less artistically inclined could at least stand up and recite.

I wonder now, thinking back on that, how many of my contemporaries in that room understood exactly what was happening, but I have always treasured that moment. I didn't know Uncle Fred very well, but he gave me a valuable gift that day.
It is a difficult thing to do, I think - to stand up and be heard. I admire your Uncle Fred - good for him.

I have always found public speaking challenging - I had to stand up and give a speech when I was 13 and it was a traumatic experience for me.

(sometimes [since then] I have thought about joining Toast Masters but could never get the courage up!)
 

Grandpa

Well-Known Member
Mar 2, 2014
9,724
53,642
Colorado
Hi!

I was just wondering if there were something you may have waited to do until you got older.

Or maybe it was something you pushed yourself to do that you were afraid to do when you were younger.

Maybe you didn't get the opportunity to do the something when you were young.

If you're still young, you'll just have to read our elderly posts. :)


1. Bungy-jump off a bridge.

2. Have grandchildren.
 

morgan

Well-Known Member
Jul 11, 2010
29,353
104,579
North Dakota
Sitting and listening to older folks.

Hated it when I was a kid, didn't see the merit, was very boring.
Then when I turned forty, I found myself seeking out uncles and aunts and family friends who were in their sixties & seventies, just listening to them share stories and laugh. This was something that I really didn't do until recent years.

Internet has nothing on Eldernet for things that'll prepare you for life.
:clap: