Obsessions in our later years

[Alan]

Mine at the moment is daily step count. Ever since I entered my 84th year I've made 5000 steps per day almost like a religion. I realise it won't make me live longer or protect me from disease but I can't help myself from constantly looking at my step-counter and going for yet another 5 minute walk. Anyone else with an odd obsession?

[Bert]

I went "cold turkey" when overcoming my obsession to fold sweet papers longitudinally then tie them in a knot to make a Pentagon. It took willpower but so far I've been off the hook 2years this coming New Year.

[HORT]

I am 76 and I am obsessed with taking my dog out twice a day.

He is a border collie and needs it and so I him take on walks and everytime we go near a pub he wants to go in and so I take him in.

Usually its the Abbey, the Gerard, or the Moss Bank.

They always give him a drink of water so I cannot refuse him.

[Dave]

Mine is - you guessed - making daft tunes.

[Alan]

I am 76 and I am obsessed with taking my dog out twice a day.

He is a border collie and needs it

It's nearly 3 years since my Border Collie was euthanised because of cancer. I still miss him every day. They are marvellous dogs

[not2old]

I thought that after retiring from the daily grind in 2010 I would be able to sleep in instead of getting up a 5am. To this day 365 days a year it's early rise, bed by 10pm, although my (is what I call it) obsessive behaviour is a one-hour nap around 5pm. Wife does not nap, she is up by 8am then to bed around 11pm. Dinner is at 7pm while watching corrie.

[ellie ellins]

I'm semi retired but my husband is fully retired. He is 72 but he will religiously go on his bike for an hour and a half every morning, then on his other days, he walks for two hours and I think he does Tai Chi exercises for half an hour. He always did exercise but this routine has been an obsession since he retired. I am not at all interested in routines and find it all very boring. It is good that everyone is exercising though.

[Alan]

My other obsession since my wife died over six years ago is totally regular meal-times and a weekly menu that rarely changes. Same breakfast every morning is a bowl of stewed fruit (usually my homegrown apples or rhubarb) followed by a tomato sandwich (homegrown for 3 months of the year). Lunch is usually a meat pie from butchers in village up the road or a cheese sandwich. Tea is usually fish fillet and chips with peas, runner-beans, carrots and snap-peas, or a Tesco fish-pie or Cumberland or Cottage Pie again with about three or four different vegs. Once a week I have Cumberland sausage from local butchers and with a load of mainly green veg

[ellie ellins]

I think there is security in routines. It is natural and if we have lived an interesting life and tried lots of different things then we come back to what made us feel comforted in early life. There are others who are watching the clock and think they need to pack as much in as they can. My friend isn't happy unless he books two cruises a year and at least twenty weekends away. I like my own comforts and I know what I like. I can't think of anything worse than staying in bnbs every weekend and watching amateur performances in provincial theatres. Yes, I get the routines but I just can't do them. I just go with the flow.

[not2old]

I think there is security in routines. It is natural and if we have lived an interesting life and tried lots of different things then we come back to what made us feel comforted in early life.

^^^ agree with this especially as one gets older.