I think that you are experiencing normal projections; we all see ourselves in our aging parents. To some degree. I think that all we can do is use that information as best we can.

Take better care of ourselves, and prepare for old age!

Everybody is different. And like pepper says take care of your health to get the best chance of a better old age.

As I reflect on my dad's last year or so, I have been more observant of his decline.

But there is more.

He was active, he had friends, he interacted with others, he knew joy.

In the end though, the loss of his wife was (I think) too much for him.

My mom is not active and has few friends. She loves her solitude, though and is fine with it. I don't like solitude and am afraid of the affect of being alone will have on me. I think I will decline much faster when she passes as a result. I have few friends and my siblings (brother and sister) are ripe with dysfunction. I do not look forward to life post mom and in fact, fear it.

I told my husband that I really don't want to die young, but seeing what our moms are going through I sure don't want to grow old.

He replied that it's too late for the first option. Such a comedian!

Im 49 and have been single more or less all my life,...the way I feel most days is ambivalent toward my own death.I'm not suicidal at the moment but I have been in the past,but my life is a constant struggle and I often long for the end..I was recently diagnosed with hyper tension (high blood pressure)..normal people would probably be alarmed by this diagnosis.. but I'm not in the slightest bothered by this..if I do sucome to cardiac arrest I just hope it's quick and not painful..this is simply the result of a difficult and unfulfilled life...

I plan on being more random as I get older. Since people expect older people to be senile, I hope to get away with a lot of disjoint comments. I shall relish puns, and have times when I misuse words as much as possible while still getting my point across!

I will keep up with popular culture so I can dwell on the "good old days" and then jump to the present without missing a beat!

In short, I will take the humorous parts of growing old, and blend them with the zest for life that young children understand more than than older people.

The right attitude pepperman, the right attitude!

Maybe it's just because of where I am right now with my mom but my overriding thought about seeing her age is that I want to be respectful to my children's time and resources. I will accept help with Grace if I need it. At least this is how I hope it to be. I also want to make sure that financially, my future is not a burden to my children.

Then again these are all things that I am dealing with because my mom does not see her current situation. Just praying it gets better.

I feel the same way but am trying to use these feelings to help myself be better prepared in old age and eat healthy and exercise now for better health. I also am trying to be proactive about things so I dont do to my kids what has been done to me.

Debbalina
I can parrot your situation
I to fear the future alone when my mom is no longer with me.
I'm thinking about saving for a retirement community so I won't be isolated