Aging....what a way to go?

"Hi Mom, I love you!" "I'm sorry sir, you have the wrong number!""Mom, don't hang up, this is Kent!" "Oh, okay, I'll let you talk to your dad."
Aging is a flip of the coin in life. Some folks get older with seemingly little physical or mental trials, and others are assaulted by all sorts of "issues" that make the golden years more challenging than we're told they should be. So we struggle to get our elders to eat right and stay safe. It's not that they don't care, but sometimes the challenges of aging can be overwhelming for those living it.
I'm grateful for my Aunt Patti. She took care of grandpa when he reached a point where he shouldn't be driving, and needed a bit more TLC than was normal for him. When I talked to her about our efforts to take care of my husband's parents, she advised that we just let them eat what they want, which is usually fairly healthy, and not try to force things on them, such as more food or liquids than they want. So our goal is to try and make them as comfortable as possible, without making them feel like we are treating them like babies. Tough to do sometimes. It sure gives us cause to be more considerate of our diet, exercise, and spiritual nourishing so that we can be in better shape. Not that it would matter if we have genetic traits such as blindness, arthritis, or loss of hearing. Thankfully, as far as I know, my family is pretty healthy over all, so for me, we shouldn't have to worry, but Kent may inherit, and seems to have already shown signs of hearing loss and such. What advice would you have for taking care of aging parents, and looking into the future for ourselves?