This blog presents the ideas and creative thinking of some of Utah's talented older adult writers. Their submissions are to inform and entertain, not to present policy or opinion positions of the Utah Commission on Aging. Enjoy.
How old do you feel in your head? Odds are it’s “a lot younger” than you feel when you look in the mirror or see a photo of yourself that someone else has taken from your “bad side.” If you have good genes, have been careful about not getting too much sun on your face, die your hair (that can also work against you), eat well, and exercise, other people might think you look a little younger than you are, but not that much younger!
According to a June 10, 2025, U.S. Measles Tracker Report1, there have been 1171 cases of measles so far this year. Of those cases, 94% were unvaccinated. Two children and one adult have died. In March, I had lunch with an unvaccinated granddaughter who had never heard of measles, didn’t know that it can be a deadly disease, or that we have now exceeded the total number of cases (285) reported in all of 2024. She had never heard of polio or an iron lung.
Like every other person old enough to give it any thought, I want to live in my own home for as long as I can. I also don’t want to be a burden on my children who will have to help make that possible. The trouble is, by the time we get that old we often don’t realize how difficult it is for our children to keep us at home safely. Even when they’re not here helping us, they worry about us.
During the last 10 of his 97 years, every time my father introduced me to someone, he always said, “This is my oldest daughter, Marti, and she manages all my finances!” He had six sons, so maybe it showed a bit of his old school nature that he pointed out it was me and not one of them who had taken on this task. He had made me co-executor of his estate along with my youngest brother, but he was very willing to have me take on the whole responsibility.
Some of us older folks were raised with the idea that it was shameful to turn the care of our aging parents or spouse over to someone else or even to ask for in-home help. Some of us even promise that they will never have to leave their home, a promise that was insisted upon by the same parents who told their children, “I never want to be a burden on my kids.” These two commitments are rarely compatible.