Can you stay in country, when your old, Or growing old on home stead

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When I get up in Morning, I can hardly bend over to scoop dog food out of bag, It takes a hour to limber up. I worked in garden yesterday and pretty stoved up today.Sometimes I wonder how Tom and I can deal with 10 acres, Mentioned it one time to hubby, and he said what would he do in city, It would drive him crazy. In the old days the kids were close by for help, Not that way any more.There"s a family down the road in there 90"s that make honey, Has lots of bee hives. He is spry as can be, We started eating honey,And as I look around out here in tooleys, there is a whole lot of gray hair. Do you all think you could cope, one way or other in country till your old?The ins and outs, your thoughts please. God Bless Irene

-- Irene texas (tkorsborn@cs.com), January 10, 2002

Answers

I hope so! While it may require cutting back on some activites, I think you could manage Ok.

It is nice if there is someone who can help out when you need it. We have an older man and woman on our road, and Cale often goes down and unloads coal and firewood, and shovels the snow for them.

I guess it just depends on how many activites you have, and it may require doing a little less than you are used to. I think we plan to have everything ready so that when we gwt older we don't have to worry so much. Like getting a new roof on the house, and having raised garden beds and things like this. Our house is one floor, no basement or upstairs, as many of our older relatives said that was the worst thing to deal with (steps)

I hope you get a lot of good ideas!

-- Melissa (me@home.net), January 10, 2002.


Irene, I sure hope so. I'll be 60 in March and because of my spinal fusion, I can't do a lot that I used to do. Just have to learn to pace myself, at least I don't work at an outside job anymore so I can take longer to do things around here! The ideas like raised beds are good. We are doing that. My husband is almost 5 years younger than me and he is going to retire in 4 years. We are tying to get things ready like Melissa said. I'm thinking maybe as we get older we may have to hire someone to help with some of the things such as house painting and repairs so we will be able to use our time and energy doing the things we really want to do which for me is gardening. My grandmother gardened way up till her late 70's, almost till the day she died. I plan to do the same thing with some modifications. I'm hoping it will be in the 80's though but if not, I'm sure God will let me garden in Heaven! If I had to move to town, it would be the death of me, I'm sure. I think the most important thing is to try to stay as active as you can and eat healthy. People who sit down when they get old, don't usually get up!!!

-- Barb in Ky. (bjconthefarm@yahoo.com), January 10, 2002.

I think you need two things 1) decent health (not on dialysis, for example) and 2) a good support system (i.e. friends and/or relatives).

I have some dear friends who live out in the boonies whose children would really love for them to move in closer to some town because of their health issues. They drive an hour away for basic medical care because they don't like the doctors in their local area. Closest real hospital is 35 miles away, etc.

The children, who help financially support them, are not interested in moving to the area because since it is out in the boonies (the boonies itself not the problem), there is a lot of crime that goes unreported out of fear, and quite honestly, not a lot of sheriff coverage anyway, not so great schools, etc. They (the friends) don't want to move away because their church is there, their friends are there, etc. Believe me, it is hard on their children too, because they want to do the right thing.

I really think it comes down to those two things.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), January 10, 2002.


Hello Irene, About three miles from my home lives a elderly gentleman that has lived in this county all of his life. He still cuts firewood, raises cattle and horseback rides. I see him two or three times a week walking up and down the road. He told me that he walks two miles each time. This man is 89 years old.

I think activity keeps you healthy. You may have to go a little slower to get the work done but, it is far better than to quit all together.

Another neighbor of mine is 69 years old. He also take walks to keep himself healthy. He just decided to return to the workforce and just completed real estate school. He wrote and published a book when he was 60. His mind is sharper than people half his age.

About, six miles from me was another couple that had a large ranch of about 300 cattle. She also ran the local general store. They just retired last year. He is 83 and she is 78.

Last year when I needed help putting up the trusses on my house some of my neighbors came to help me. In the group of six people there was two men that were in their late sixties helping me. I was concerned at first but, as I watched them work I saw they were as spry as I am at 45 years of age.

The point of all these examples is that many people live in the country and grow old. They still work hard, they still keep busy. I think if you give up the work and become idle your chances of living a healthy life diminish.

That does not mean you have to go out a build a bridge or any extreme endeavor but, keeping active and doing the things you love to do will prolong life.

Sincerely,

Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), January 10, 2002.


Hi Irene, you're questioning just like I've been questioning for the last few months. I just turned 55 last week (officially a senior citizen now) and hubby turns 58 next month. The kids are grown and gone and we have 50 acres here to take care of. Nine tillable acres, lots of pasture (floods twice a year), of course gardens of veggies as well as flowers. We love it here but reality is such I don't know how long we can mow an acre of yard weekly during the summer, keep pastures down since we don't have the animals we did. If hubby can retire next year, like we're hoping, we'll probably get back into cattle etc. but it takes a lot of time and energy to make and then feed hay when he's working a 44 hour a week job. He also farms his mothers 160 acres for her. We've just gotten old enough something had to go......the cattle are what we've given up for now. I'm not complaining, don't get me wrong, I love this life and hope to stay here for many more years but.......we'll see how it goes.

Just some thoughts Irene to let you know there's others of us out here getting a little age on us too :)

-- Anna in Iowa (countryanna54@hotmail.com), January 10, 2002.



I'm 59 and am dealing with Post Polio Syndrome along with other problems due to having polio. We moved out here ten years ago from the city and I would die a slow death going back there. Fortunately, we live in a community that cares for their elderly. My DH is 49 and plans on retiring next year. he doesn't have any health issues yet, so we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

As for aches and pains, I have plenty of those and I'm learning the hard way that I have to curtail some activities. Right now I'm dealing with rotator cuff pain and physical therapy three times a week. It isn't easy as I'm not a sit-on-my-behind person. I guess, Irene, I'll take it one day at a time and see what God has in mind for me. Take care now and God bless!

-- Ardie /WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), January 10, 2002.


My dream is for hubby and me to retire on 20-50 acres in Texas. I really don't think I could be happy living in the city again.

When my dad retired, some years back, someone commented to him that he never would run out of things to do on his place(about 10 acres), and his reply was, I hope not! You need to stay as busy as you can with things you are interested in or enjoy, to stay young. Dad doesn't plant as big a garden anymore, but he still gardens. And he doesn't have any cattle now, but he still keep chickens. You can cut back, and still do some of the things you like.

When I was a teenager, I used to clean house every week or so for a dear elderly lady, who lived on a farm. She was still pretty active, but unable to keep house the way she wanted. Sometimes my brother would go out, too, and help her husband with things around the place. Maybe you could look around your church, like she did, for a family with young people who might be willing to come and help you out with part of the routine occassionally, for reasonable pay. It can be a very enriching experience for the young person, as they make friends with you, and learn your ways of doing things.

And by all means, keep up your insurance on yourselves and your place, if at all possible. My dad just discovered his roof needed replacing again, and the insurance covered it, since there was hail damage. Comes a point when you need to hire out that kind of work.

Cultivate your friends, especially at church, and help one another out whenever possible with things you know about and can do.

-- mary (marylgarcia@aol.com), January 10, 2002.


As far back in my childhood memories, my family helped many elderly farmers and country folk with their chores. Besides my grandparents in the country, we seemed to adopt several more grandparents. My Dad delivered fuel to all the farms and ranches so he knew who needed a little extra help and when they needed it

When I was 5, I pulled weeds in Mr. Pearson's garden, and learned to properly pick fruit and veggies and cut flowers. He was 89 years old and had been a stagecoach mechanic as a young man. I learned alot from him. I remember going to his house around midnight with my mom. We sat in his garden sipping homemade lemonade and watched a big cactus bloom. By morning, the blossoms were withered and falling.

When I was 7, I chopped cotton, helped bottle feed calves and picked the hornworms off the tomato plants for an elderly couple who had migrated from Oklahoma during the dust bowl. I learned a lot from them. I saw my first calf be born, I learned to milk, bulldog a calf, and ride a steer. I learned to make butter and I learned to make, and even eat headcheese. I learned organic gardening and an important part of our American history.

When I was 10, I learned about sheep. Lambing, shearing and well, what sheep are really like.

It was my granparents who taught me to chop firewood, build a fire, butcher chickens, dress a deer, "lasagna" garden and numerous other country skills. It was my parents who taught me that giving had its own rewards.

Even as an adult moving around, I kept the tradition of finding the elderly homesteader and helping with their chores. I benefit so much more that they do with skills and knowledge that I aquire and they've all been willing to teach me what they know. I am trying to pass this tradition on to my children, too.

Irene, all I can tell you is that I am sure there is a young family in need of adopted grandparents who would love to work hard and learn the skills that you have to teach them. All you need to do is find them, or let them find you, and to love them and have patience with their children.

Those of you who are still kinda in town or not overwhelmed with your own farm chores, or even have a few hours per week will be richly rewarded by adopting new grandparents and enable them to stay on the farm.

Oh yeah, all the work my parents did for folks and had us kids do, they never accepted money or allowed us kid to either. However, extra farm and garden produce was always accepted with grace. We never had much money, but we ate better than royalty.

-- Laura (Ladybugwrangler@hotmail.com), January 10, 2002.


Gosh, Irene, hubby and I were wondering the same thing! We are also in our 50's and, although our first batch of kids are grown and moved away from home, we have one of those late in life babies (now 5 yrs old). He is speeding up...we are slowing down (we joke we will have to find an old folks home that takes minors!). The farm seems to be getting sooooo much bigger and I am certain some how the barn keeps moving further from the house! We have been wondering how we are going to keep doing it through the golden years. Here's what we came up with:

Who said you gotta work the whole farm, 50 head of cattle, or keep a garden for 8 people? I don't believe there is a law that says you have to use your entire pasture (think we might rent it out for some added income and work a deal for a stear for the freezer, or something to that effect).

We are just going to downsize some. Gosh, if we were still in the city we would still have a yard to mow, a house to clean, snow to shovel, etc. Not much differance, really. We will just make the same concessions anyone else would when they get old - downsize and hire out what you can afford.

I would think that the exercise and fresh air alone would give us all another 10 years. Even if I am bed ridden and can't go outside...would happen in the city anyway...at least we will stay where we love and can see the sun come up!

-- Karen (db0421@yahoo.com), January 10, 2002.


Irene, You have to live somewhere....may as well be where you love. Learn to pace yourselve, only work 10-15 mins and then rest. Get help for heavy jobs. Raised beds saves on the back. If you cover them with plastic in the fall there ready in the spring with very little work. We have had ours for 6 years and this year we need to add a little more dirt and leaves. If you plant close together,very little weeding. My husband hooked up a drip system and I just have to turn the hose on and off. I make a milk jug full of liquid fertilizer and pour on the plants every two weeks. Only grow what you need. Maybe go to a farmers market for some things. I belong to a food co-op and can get organic food from them. It's easier to get organic chicken from them than raise my own. Also handcarts and garden carts are great for hauling things instead of carrying. I have my husband take the cart right to the truck. We drive the truck right up to the barn to unload the grain. You can put wheels under cans so you can roll them. Have benches to sit on in the garden, I love just sitting there and enjoying the day and listening to the birds. I think we can do a lot more if we rethink how we have been doing things. I have to use a walker outside, and I just thank the Lord all the time for giving me ideas of how to get things done. I even got a puppy this year. She's almost 8 mons and she is learning so good. Sit down with your husband and do a little brain storming. Sometimes my husband shocks me with a good idea.LOL I say why didn't you say that sooner. Two heads are better than one. Wish you the best Irene and I do enjoy your posts here and on other forums

-- Jo (farmerjo@kvalley.com), January 11, 2002.


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