The Seniors Thread :-)

[darksideofthemoon]

"This is for the Senior members of CS, those born before 1947. Baby Boomers and Generations X & Y are welcome providing you are over 18 🙂

But this is definitely for people who are facing the last long haul.  We have survived babyhood, childhood, being teens and twenties... We have learned to read and write, to drive, have probably been married and the women have survived child birth.

The challenges are constant and the near misses of death are also there.  If we have become a senior we have learned to survive so much, and along the way we have, of course, gathered a great deal of knowledge about life.

The  belief that age diminishes us is not true, it changes us and not all of it is bad.  Yes there can be various forms of dementia for some, but that is also a disease that can happen in younger people.  Alzheimer's can also occur - it is another form of dementia and generally occurs in people over 65, although that can occur much earlier too and not everyone is going to get it.

Most of us keep our mental alertness up to the moment of death, even if we lose our hearing and our eyesight, but of course this can happen at any age too.

What changes is our physical strength, which diminishes but our mental strength and patience grows, it has to of course, to deal with this aging thing.

Arthritis, heart trouble, strokes - all these things associated with age can happen at any time in your life - arthritis can happen when you are a child but they don't like giving out new hips and knees until you are in your 50s and 60s or later.  We can talk about that too.

Cancer can happen any time and that is also something we can discuss here if you like.

The point of this thread is to give the Seniors a chance to talk about how they are coping with age, the challenges it presents and the fears that can come with it... loss of hearing or sight, aging spouses, living alone, retirement villages, even death...

So I will ask that the Juniors treat us in kindly fashion and remember, all this is going to happen to you too - providing you avoid death before you get here 🙂

So, onward and upward.  Let's go...."

[bushies.girl]

Great thread, I'm an early 50's bubby but am loving the trips down memory lane 🙂

[kengillard]

Well I went to primary in Wingham (barefoot by choice) and 1st year High School at Wingham High, then to Taree High school to repeat lst year high school as I wanted to take French.

Then went to Sydney to a boarding school... Wenona at North Sydney....for 4 years......to supposedly civilise me and rub off a few rough edges......fail!!!! lol

When I was going to Wingham High I used to ride my horse the 4 miles to my relatives place in Wingham and get dressed into uniform and leave my horse in her back paddock....later on I was given a puppy that I used to carry in front of me on the saddle and tie up all day in a shed near the horse....poor puppy.....

No one immunised dogs in those days, so poor puppy died of some dog disease....didn't die actually ....my stepfather took it away and shot it....it app. 'disappeared' but I found it's body while out riding one day.   Needless to say it didn't endear me to my stepfather!

[grandmoon]

I attended Hughesdale State Primary School.  While i was there we had very large classes in 5 grade we had desks for 60 pupils in the room and there were 62 kids in the class.  We would take it in turns to sit on the heaters which was good in the very hot days or the cold days.

[purple_haize]

I lived in Adelaide, and so back then in 1950's. I went to Norwood Infant School, Norwood Primary School & Norwood High School.

I think from memory, the infant school was prep, then grades 1, 1A and 2......then you moved up to the primary school which was next door to the Infant School.

They use to have a school bell and we all had to march inside to classes to a drum.

No school uniforms in Infant or Primary, ghastly horrible navy blue uniform for High school, including hat and gloves.

[lyndal1838]

Wiley Park High School was at the end of our street but I travelled to Sydney High.

My OH went to East Hills High but Bankstown Primary - he lived at Bankstown (Dellwood Street) till we were married in 1970 so a Bankstown boy from way back. 
Since moving to Brisbane we have met a lot of people from there!

Rosie, when were you at Sydney High?  I was there for the last Leaving Certificate in 1962.

Do you remember the "Purple People Eater"....the headmistress Doreen Wayne?  I much preferred her predecesser Lily Preston.

[rosieglen]

Miss Preston was headmistress when I was there - i left in 1958 (I think).  We used to have lunch in the Bear Pit.

[downeyas]

Old?? who said a 3 letter word - I am in my early 30's youngish, sprightly, energetic and a go getter - but, oh dear - who is that in the mirror, oh good lord it's me, knew I shouldn't have looked. 3 November 1945 - Hi everyone :))

[grandmoon]

Did anyone else use the slate and chalk in the first couple of years ??

[darksideofthemoon]

Anyone from Roseville College?  It's a huge school now and for some time I was secretary to the Headmistress, but when I started there I was 8 and at that time it was a small 'Dame's school'... i.e. run by an elderly woman who owned it, Miss Rosberrie.

There were only 100 girls there at that time, but now I believe it has grown much much bigger.

[rosieglen]

Rosie, when were you at Sydney High?  I was there for the last Leaving Certificate in 1962.

Do you remember the "Purple People Eater"....the headmistress Doreen Wayne?  I much preferred her predecesser Lily Preston.

I replied earlier but it seems some posts are going awol.

Miss Preston was headmistress when I was there - we used to have our lunch in the old Bear Pit - was previously the Zoo LOL

Beautiful grounds - dreadful uniform - brown tunic and the most awful beret for the winter and panama hat in summer. heaven help us if we didnt wear our gloves or hat. Used to get the tram from Central Station.