Starting from scratch at 60 : (

[Deep Sea Diver]

Hi fellow bonsai-aholics.
First post so i'll get right into it.
Long story,short....had a lovely collection (50+ trees).
I lived in Melbourne,Australia so good Winters etc (able to grow many different species).
My mum fell ill (dad had already passed) and there was no-one in the family to care for her so i stepped up,which meant relocating to a semi-tropical climate.

Welcome Aboard Bonsai Nut!

That was a wonderful thing ….stepping up for your Mum. Believe me, I know what that takes…three 90+ parents/in law, two with dementia. It takes alot, but it is worth the effort… as bittersweet as it can be.

Life is a journey that takes a lot of twists and turns. It sounds like you are really making the effort to make the best of it! @Shibui is just the person to help set you back on the path to a healthy bonsai collection.

cheers
DSD sends

 

[penumbra]

Mum had demetia but was also very mobile at the same time so it made it extremely difficult.

Boy do I get it. Everyone is always telling my mom to slow down. She buzzes around like a bee then she turns to me and says "I'm supposed to use my walker. Do you know where it is?" She is 95 years old and her lungs and heart are in better condition than that of any of her three children. I seriously am concerned that she may outlive all of us. I'd hate for her to start losing her children and be without any family. My mother in law, while a few years younger, has more dementia yet.

 

[Emeraldtarpon]

Welcome Aboard Bonsai Nut!

That was a wonderful thing ….stepping up for your Mum. Believe me, I know what that takes…three 90+ parents/in law, two with dementia. It takes alot, but it is worth the effort… as bittersweet as it can be.

Life is a journey that takes a lot of twists and turns. It sounds like you are really making the effort to make the best of it! @Shibui is just the person to help set you back on the path to a healthy bonsai collection.

cheers
DSD sends

Thank you for your kind words DSD.
It was quite exhausting and towards the end,mum called me everything you can possibly image (which i found very amusing to be honest...my weird sense of humor : ) God help me if she saw me laughing though LOL.

Here's an example of one of the funnier situations.....

Went to the toilet, came back to find mum kneeling behind a chair with a pair of scissors in her hand, behaving panicked and desperate.
I had no idea what was going on but my first concern was taking the scissors off her.
As i leant down to try and take the scissors she shouted "NO,he's going to sufficate"....and she tried to stick the scissors into the back of the chair, to cut it open
I carefully removed the scissors from mums hand and asked her what was happening.....Her response -
"You idiot, Johns sufficating in there, ive got to get him out" - apparently John (she saw people that wernt there) was trapped in the back of the chair and couldnt breath so he was dying LOL
All fun and games!
Take care DSD, cheers.

 

[Emeraldtarpon]

Boy do I get it. Everyone is always telling my mom to slow down. She buzzes around like a bee then she turns to me and says "I'm supposed to use my walker. Do you know where it is?" She is 95 years old and her lungs and heart are in better condition than that of any of her three children. I seriously am concerned that she may outlive all of us. I'd hate for her to start losing her children and be without any family. My mother in law, while a few years younger, has more dementia yet.

Hi penumbra, hope lifes treating you well.
Yes, i cant believe the amount of energy the females had back in their day.Although, as i mentioned earlier, i have a crazy metabolism...probably inherited from mum's side of the family...they were all full on go,go,go
It starts getting scary when a family member in their 90's appears to be "out pacing" the family around them....there was something these folk were doing back in their day that enabled this amazing longevity, love to know what it was (probably a combination of things).
Take care penumbra, and have a great day mate

 

[Paradox]

They probably didn't eat as much fast food, junk food, sugar and other garbage so many of us eat now. That is one thing for sure.

The ultra processed foods and sugar are killing us

 

[Emeraldtarpon]

They probably didn't eat as much fast food, junk food, sugar and other garbage so many of us eat now. That is one thing for sure.

The ultra processed foods and sugar are killing us

Yeah, the dreaded frankenfood...toxic in so many ways.
Supermarkets seem to be the worst for peddling this shit.Even their vegies are tastless and no doubt low in nutrients.
I cant imagine eating something as toxic as Mc D's or KFC etc (the thought makes me shudder).
As kids,we always got meat and veg and all those immune building goodies....along with dad continually saying "it's good for you, it'll put hairs on your chest"
Im very glad that eating properly was drummed into us as kids.
Even though mum had dementia,i still made sure she ate a variety of good,wholesome meals....sometimes you get a chance to truly pay someone back for all their love and caring and this was my chance to truly do that.....felt good to be honest!

 

[penumbra]

My mom is a mystery when it comes to vitality. She loves seeing doctors and loves going to the hospital just 'cause. She takes about 40 medicines, loves sweets, doesn't care an iota about where or how her food was made, could care less about chemical additives and so on and so forth. Exercise, forget it. In my household now, we buy only organic, source are meat locally, a shun most medicines unless there is a damn good reason for it. I used to go to the doctor about every 10 years whether I needed it or not, and my wife finally has a doctor just in case. Exercise and work outside daily.
Still think mom might outlive me.
For you smokers, you break my heart. Mom never smoked. All three of her kids did and though we all quit, it catches up with you. No more long distance mountain hiking for me, and that was my greatest passion.

 

[namnhi]

@Emeraldtarpon Have you heen to Shibui place? Show us some trees... you are not getting any younger.

 

[Emeraldtarpon]

@Emeraldtarpon Have you heen to Shibui place? Show us some trees... you are not getting any younger.

Hi namnhi...I love a person who's straight to the point hahaha!
I just got my car back after having some mechanical work done so i'll be calling shibui tomorrow to make an appointment to head out to his nursery.
I'll take some pics for ya
"you are not getting any younger" - you know you're getting there when you look in the mirror and instantly think "get f***ed".
Cheers