It's Hell When You Want To Be Older.
Posted: Thursday, March 26, 2009
by Mike Fak
http://mikefak.com
I am closing in on 61 years of age and just about nothing works as well as it used to.
I can live with that. The reason being if I don't live with my aches and pains it means I'm dead. Right now I can see Social Security money just down the road and I really want to get back at least some of my dough before I cash in my chips.
As I sit here typing today, my right shoulder is throbbing. It is tendonitis from childhood days when I pitched full games of baseball five or six days a week for a half dozen years.
My lower back also is sore from swinging an ax for an hour chopping out an old tree stump. I did just fine with my chopping, holding my own with anyone half my age. The problem is my lower back now feels like every muscle in it has been repositioned into my butt. And I use my butt a lot in the business I am in.
Like most old-timers, I don't spend a lot of time looking in the mirror. What is there isn't anywhere near as good as it was decades ago or perhaps just yesterday for that matter.
Still with all of this, I wish I was older.
The math tells me that if I take a lesser amount of Social Security money at age 62, I will start losing out after I hit age 76. That is a gamble worth taking as my butt and shoulder are telling me 16 years more years of being able to bellyache is about as probable as my winning a beauty pageant.
I have a friend who just turned 63 and he decided to grab what he could before St. Peter says next' and looks his way. I am enjoying his enthusiasm and it has got me going to wish the next year and a half would speed by.
Of course the SSN check won't mean I get to move to a penthouse or buy a yacht. What it will mean is I will start to get back some of that mound of money I have paid out over the years that was foolishly spent by the government. It is soon approaching that it will be my turn to foolishly spend my own money and I like that.
I won't change my lifestyle much. The money will be a nice augmentation to my work salaries but it won't mean I can give up what I have been doing.
That's too bad, but somehow over the years I didn't do enough things right to be able to say I don't need any income. I sort of started out 50 years ago with nothing and all I have been able to do in that half-century is keep most of that nothing without any additions worth a hoot.
There are certain benchmarks a person looks forward to. 18 was one for me because it meant I was eligible for the draft and my wondering if I would get sucked into the army was replaced by the reality that I was.. Another was 21 as that signified I was now old enough to get legally snockered with no repercussions as long as I walked home from the bar and didn't ding my head on a street sign or disembowel myself on a parking meter.
I guess 40 was significant as it meant I was now in the official, 'things will start going to hell in a hurry group.'
It seems that my last significant age-wise milestone will be 62.
I don't want to say I am looking forward to 18 months speeding by, but I do have all the SSN paperwork ready to go and I haven't even done this year's taxes yet.
I'm living a real conundrum. Every day brings me closer to the end of the road so you would think I wouldn't be in a hurry to arrive at my 62 nd birthday but I am.
What else could go wrong with me in the next eighteen months that hasn't gone wrong already? I mean outside of standing in line at the Pearly Gates with notes from friends recommending that most of my mistakes be overlooked that is.
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Top-level comments on this article: (5 total)Hi Mike.Because of when I was born, I think I have to wait until I am 66 or 67 (something like that) to get a full SS check. But you've given me something to think about. You never know what will happen. Maybe it is better to take less sooner than nothing later.Thanks for your thoughts,DianneI believe it should be according to your family history. Mine is terrible at getting to any old age so I go for as asoon as possible. Everyone on my wife's side of the family lives well into their 80s or 90s.Mike
Another great one Mike.Thanks Ken. I appreciate the kind words.mike
My husband and I both drew SS at 62 and we are glad we did. It is a big help in retirement and there is no guarantees on our life expectancies.Thanks Linda/ Glad the two of you can enjoy the money.mike
hi mike,pain can cause depression. oh boy, can i attest to that one.my great aunt just turned 95. imagine?how about we make a pact? if we can survive one more day, we'll be happy:)my best to you,sueYep. One day at a time Sue.Mike
Chin up Mike. Great article!
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