OT the Senior Citizens Playgroup

So I thought I should get out more so I went along to it. We play scrabble
and dominoes and can do jigsaws if we want to, some are doing a 1000 piece
which will take them weeks as we only have two hours.
They are all nice. I was demolished at dominoes last week by a 90 yo.
I am by far the youngest there We pay £1 a week and get a meal out in the
summer and at Christmas.
I did a jigsaw last time and completed it, next week it will be playing
scrabble with them.

I never thought I would be reduced to this.

"Christina Websell" wrote in
message ...
So I thought I should get out more so I went along to it. We
play scrabble and dominoes and can do jigsaws if we want to,
some are doing a 1000 piece which will take them weeks as we
only have two hours.
They are all nice. I was demolished at dominoes last week by a
90 yo.
I am by far the youngest there We pay £1 a week and get a meal
out in the summer and at Christmas.
I did a jigsaw last time and completed it, next week it will be
playing scrabble with them.

I never thought I would be reduced to this.

"Reduced"? REDUCED???

Although you say "they're all nice", my interpretation of your
message is that you think people who attend this type of club are
in some way not as good as the rest of the population.

Anyway, in another post, you mentioned that you liked working
with older people!

--
MatSav

On Thu, 20 Sep 2012 01:57:38 +0100, "Christina Websell"
wrote:

So I thought I should get out more so I went along to it. We play scrabble
and dominoes and can do jigsaws if we want to, some are doing a 1000 piece
which will take them weeks as we only have two hours.
They are all nice. I was demolished at dominoes last week by a 90 yo.
I am by far the youngest there We pay £1 a week and get a meal out in the
summer and at Christmas.
I did a jigsaw last time and completed it, next week it will be playing
scrabble with them.

I never thought I would be reduced to this.






I can't wait to be retired. I like my job but would rather not have
one. I think I can almost afford to retire if I don't spend too much.
And I'd have more time to spend with the kitties! My plan is about 3
1/2 more years of work. I hope it works out.

I spent a week in July with my brothers, mother, and assorted kids and
cousins. We did various games, and yes, a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle.
We'd just walk by, stop for a second, put in a few more pieces, and it
was fun working with the kids and teaching them how to recognize
pieces. I wish we could spend more time together but everyone lives in
different cities so one week a year is pretty much it for a big
gathering.

But I hate having to leave the cats.

On 2012-09-19 10:27 PM, Christina Websell wrote:
So I thought I should get out more so I went along to it. We play scrabble
and dominoes and can do jigsaws if we want to, some are doing a 1000 piece
which will take them weeks as we only have two hours.
They are all nice. I was demolished at dominoes last week by a 90 yo.
I am by far the youngest there We pay £1 a week and get a meal out in the
summer and at Christmas.
I did a jigsaw last time and completed it, next week it will be playing
scrabble with them.

I never thought I would be reduced to this.


I do various activities that seem to attract mostly people a good bit
older than me. I just enjoy myself, and consider myself lucky rather
than reduced to anything, although I do know some elderly people who
wouldn't touch such affairs either because they consider them childish
(or themselves treated as children) or because they have some idea that
socializing with strangers you go to a club to meet is somehow
second-class compared to socializing in a private home with ones friends
and relations.

You aren't alone. I met an acquaintance at a dance and we were
commiserating on the lack of opportunities for traditional dancing. I
mentioned that sometimes the 50+ clubs organized groups and classes, and
he sniffed and said something like 'You know, 'over 50' really means
'over 70'', which is mostly true, but it wouldn't stop me.

--
Cheryl

On 9/19/2012 8:57 PM, Christina Websell wrote:
So I thought I should get out more so I went along to it. We play scrabble
and dominoes and can do jigsaws if we want to, some are doing a 1000 piece
which will take them weeks as we only have two hours.
They are all nice. I was demolished at dominoes last week by a 90 yo.
I am by far the youngest there We pay £1 a week and get a meal out in the
summer and at Christmas.
I did a jigsaw last time and completed it, next week it will be playing
scrabble with them.

I never thought I would be reduced to this.


I see some people are objecting to the phrase "reduced to this". What
difference does it make if you have a good time?

I've always been a rather solitary person. We moved so often when I was
a child I got used to amusing myself. I read a lot. John thinks I
should be more social, so I've been attempting to expand my circle of
friends. It isn't as easy as it sounds. With the exception of my
neighbor Lynn, owned by Schwartzie & Fedders, I barely know anyone who
lives here. Other than our cats she and I don't have much in common.
She's an avid gardener (she's got tons of outdoor plants in big pots.)
I'm not interested in gardening; I don't even have house plants. I like
to cook; she regards cooking as a necessary evil We're friendly, and
we help each other out, sure. That's the extent of it.

I only know the other people (some of whom are only here a couple of
months out of the year) to wave and say hi to. That's about it.
*Everyone* here is older than I am. Age doesn't concern me, we simply
don't have much in common.

As long as you have a good time, I wouldn't worry about it.

Jill

Christina Websell wrote:
So I thought I should get out more so I went along to it. We play scrabble
and dominoes and can do jigsaws if we want to, some are doing a 1000 piece
which will take them weeks as we only have two hours.
They are all nice. I was demolished at dominoes last week by a 90 yo.
I am by far the youngest there We pay £1 a week and get a meal out in the
summer and at Christmas.
I did a jigsaw last time and completed it, next week it will be playing
scrabble with them.

I never thought I would be reduced to this.

Well, it's something to do, and gets you out among people. (That was my
reason for moving to a senior retirement residence - which is not
exactly an unmixed blessing, but at least eliminated the symptoms of
clinical depression I was experiencing.)

MatSav wrote:

"Reduced"? REDUCED???

Although you say "they're all nice", my interpretation of your
message is that you think people who attend this type of club are
in some way not as good as the rest of the population.

Anyway, in another post, you mentioned that you liked working
with older people!

It's not a matter of "good" or "bad", Mat. People can be "nice" and not
particularly congenial because of education and/or interests. (One of
the reasons I find my senior residence a "mixed blessing" is that all
the "entertainers" they present play either "pop", country-Western or
gospel music, all of which I dislike intensely!)

On 2012-09-20 3:43 PM, EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) wrote:


MatSav wrote:

"Reduced"? REDUCED???

Although you say "they're all nice", my interpretation of your message
is that you think people who attend this type of club are in some way
not as good as the rest of the population.

Anyway, in another post, you mentioned that you liked working with
older people!

It's not a matter of "good" or "bad", Mat. People can be "nice" and not
particularly congenial because of education and/or interests. (One of
the reasons I find my senior residence a "mixed blessing" is that all
the "entertainers" they present play either "pop", country-Western or
gospel music, all of which I dislike intensely!)

If they're like the ones here, they take whoever will volunteer to
perform, and yes, they mostly do seem to fall in those categories, plus
folk music.

--
Cheryl

Cheryl wrote:


I do various activities that seem to attract mostly people a good bit
older than me. I just enjoy myself, and consider myself lucky rather
than reduced to anything, although I do know some elderly people who
wouldn't touch such affairs either because they consider them childish
(or themselves treated as children) or because they have some idea that
socializing with strangers you go to a club to meet is somehow
second-class compared to socializing in a private home with ones friends
and relations.

Well, the folks conducting some senior activities DO treat the group's
members like children - especially if they use a cane or walker, or are
otherwise physically handicapped. I remember visiting my 90 year-old
mother in Minnesota, one year, and driving her to an appointment with a
new dentist. Mom was managing very well living on her own in a six-room
house, and I lived in another state, but the dentist's nurse kept asking
ME "does she?" and "can she?" questions as though she weren't able to
answer for herself. (It's not surprising Mom got a bit annoyed at that!)

You aren't alone. I met an acquaintance at a dance and we were
commiserating on the lack of opportunities for traditional dancing. I
mentioned that sometimes the 50+ clubs organized groups and classes, and
he sniffed and said something like 'You know, 'over 50' really means
'over 70'', which is mostly true, but it wouldn't stop me.

W-e-l-l-l...... Twenty years' difference in age can mean entirely
different "traditional" dances from one's youth! ("Jitterbug" or
"Lindy", anyone?)

jmcquown wrote:


I see some people are objecting to the phrase "reduced to this". What
difference does it make if you have a good time?

I've always been a rather solitary person. We moved so often when I was
a child I got used to amusing myself. I read a lot. John thinks I
should be more social, so I've been attempting to expand my circle of
friends. It isn't as easy as it sounds. With the exception of my
neighbor Lynn, owned by Schwartzie & Fedders, I barely know anyone who
lives here. Other than our cats she and I don't have much in common.
She's an avid gardener (she's got tons of outdoor plants in big pots.)
I'm not interested in gardening; I don't even have house plants. I like
to cook; she regards cooking as a necessary evil We're friendly, and
we help each other out, sure. That's the extent of it.

I only know the other people (some of whom are only here a couple of
months out of the year) to wave and say hi to. That's about it.
*Everyone* here is older than I am. Age doesn't concern me, we simply
don't have much in common.

I've always been mostly a "loner", too. When I was kid, my Mom could
take me anywhere and I was fine with it, so long as I had a book to
read. You can be "friendly" with a lot of people, but not have enough
in common to really socialize with them! That doesn't make one group
"better" than another, but it does make a really active social life with
them rather difficult.