It is good to hear that she is progressing, Sheryl. I'm sure your dad is lost without her company.

Teppy, I had the same type of epiphany a number of years ago when my mom in her 90s insisted in no uncertain terms that my elder years would be a whole lot easier if I got my health act together earlier. Do I wish I started a decade ago, indeed, but better late than never!

Teppy, I had the same type of epiphany a number of years ago when my mom in her 90s insisted in no uncertain terms that my elder years would be a whole lot easier if I got my health act together earlier.

I mean, my mom at 75 is fucking RIDICULOUS. She's off-the-chart healthy/active/strong/flexible for her age. I mean, I know for goddamn sure I don't have the flexibility she does, because she's been a dedicated yogi for maybe 20 years now. And she and my stepdad still go camping/hiking on the regular, and their hikes are not little bitty hikes on flat ground. The only difference between now and when they first got together 30 years ago is that if Mom camps overnight, she wants to be in a facility or camper that has a bathroom right there, because she has decided that 75 is too goddamn old to be traipsing across a pitch-dark campground at 3 a.m. to use the bathroom (or a tree). And I can't argue with her, because that's why we rented a camper in August. The bathroom factor is extremely compelling.

My age limit for traipsing across the campground to use the bathroom in the middle of the night was a whole lot younger than your mom's. Still love camping, but the comfort requirements have changed over the years.

Teppy, I had the same type of epiphany a number of years ago when my mom in her 90s insisted in no uncertain terms that my elder years would be a whole lot easier if I got my health act together earlier.

My sciatica experience was the same wake up call. And now I run the steps five days a week regularly. Or until my knees give out. Thinking about exploring Pilates now, which seems easier on joints.

My age limit for traipsing across the campground to use the bathroom in the middle of the night was a whole lot younger than your mom's.

Right? Although I would have been okay with renting a camper van that doesn't have a bathroom and is just tricked out with a comfy sleeping arrangement; if I *had* to traipse across the campground to pee, I would have. But basically, we can't tent camp any more because we are both too rickety. (Also, tent camping sucks and always has.) But when we found that the best rental price was an actual small Winnebago with bathroom and fridge, then hell yeah we rented it, and it was a delight.

(I can already forsee our own retirement years, and they're going to involve a camper. But that's cool by me.)

I empathize and sympathize with the aging parent issues. It's not easy. And same re: recognizing the importance of trying to stay active -- my mom suffered a lot of mobility loss because of her essentially sedentary lifestyle, so I'm trying to learn from that. Hell if she didn't keep, like, 95% of her mental faculties though. Seriously fucking impressive and, I hope, a good sign for me in that regard.

Thinking about exploring Pilates now, which seems easier on joints.

Tai Chi?

Definitely no al fresco bathroomimg or traipsing for this gal anymore. Nope.

I say that like I used to do it a lot. I did not. Don't think I've ever slept overnight in a tent, and I know I've only had to use an outhouse once e in my life. I'm OK with that.

I empathize and sympathize with the aging parent issues. It's not easy. And same re: recognizing the importance of trying to stay active -- my mom suffered a lot of mobility loss because of her essentially sedentary lifestyle, so I'm trying to learn from that.

Cosigned. Since Covid, my physical health has fallen off in a big way. No in-person 5Ks, no dance classes, no classes at the gym, etc. I actually lost weight during quarantine, but part of it is that I lost any tiny bit of muscle tone I ever had. Now things are creeping back to normal, well, "normal", I've got to start making a real effort to get off the friggin couch more regularly. But seeing what my mom went through her last 5-10 years really made an impression.

My sciatica experience was the same wake up call. And now I run the steps five days a week regularly. Or until my knees give out. Thinking about exploring Pilates now, which seems easier on joints.

Endurance-wise, I'm just trying to add walking time in increments of literally 1 minute. It is brisk walking, like, definite breaking-a-sweat walking, so there's that. I am actually optimistic that I'll get back to pre-Covid levels, but I can't guess how long that will take. And I hiked in Vermont without slowing anyone down, so I'm not decrepit. I'm just hyper aware of where I was pre-Covid and where I am now, 9 months later.

Anyway, I really need to take a page out of my mom's book and do some yoga, too, because I am emphatically not bendy. I also need to get back to lifting weights, because muscle mass is pretty damn important as we all get older. (Another true story about my bionic mom: she had developed osteoporosis [or maybe just the precursor osteopenia], and her doctor started her on meds for it. Mom threw herself into a regimen of lifting weights and, for real, not just stopped the bone loss but actually reversed it and doesn't have to take the meds any more. She's a wunderkind.)