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You are gorgeous madam with the most lovely teeth.. an inspiration to us all.. go girl...getting old to me ... 66. is that my feet get sore a lot... I jade easily doing things that didnt use to bother me... even shopping , washing windows, etc.. I dont look forward to parties or get togethers with friends, I like my own company a lot... but hey Im still here.. many dont make it to anything near my age sadly.. so I should think myself lucky even if I cant dance the night away now.
LOL thank you so much, but I can't take much credit for my teeth - I got most of the front teeth knocked out in a dune buggy wreck at age fifteen and so those teeth are a bridge - not my own natural ones! That being said, I think I learned from that horrible experience the IMPORTANCE OF TAKING CARE OF ONE'S TEETH. I get mine cleaned religiously (every six months), and am scrupulous about oral hygiene and care - you know, brushing every nook and cranny for a long period of time, daily flossing, etc. All that boring stuff.
You don't appreciate your teeth sometimes till they are laying in a field somewhere and your lips and gums are in shreds. I still have a lot of nerve damage to my lips and chin (numb areas) and had to have a couple of rounds of reconstructive surgery/cosmetic surgery. Yep - pretty dramatic - especially for a young girl in her teens (some of the cosmetic surgery couldn't be done till my mouth finished maturing).
As for the feet - yes, I've noticed that too. In fact, I had to have surgery on my achilles tendon a couple of years ago because I tore it in a fall/big step backwards off a ladder. EEEEEEOOOOOOOOWWWWW!!! More drama, believe me, and more trouble than I even want to recall (cast for nine months). BUT overall, in my lifetime I've been blessed with abundant health and strength. Quite a bit of that I credit to genetics, but I have also always eaten very healthy foods, gotten a lot of quality sleep, and a good amount of exercise.
You mention getting together with people as not being as exciting as it once was, and I agree with that. As I've gotten older, I've realized that heck - been there, done that. I climbed the corporate ladder - it was fun for awhile but I'm glad I'm off it now. I've built a career, I've birthed babies, I've raised toddlers and teenagers, I've partied and laid on the bathroom floor afterwards, I've dated like crazy and fallen in love a few times, I've traveled all over the world - I mean, some of that is still fun to me (I still love traveling, for instance, and just last week my husband and I went on a pub crawl in Austin which was tons of fun), but I am just as happy at home with my dogs and my cat and my yardwork and quiet evenings with my husband and a cup of tea.
I think sometimes younger people look at that sort of thing and think, "How boring it must be." I mean, even my own 26 year old son, who just struck off to live the life of Riley on the island of GUAM of all things, poor but adventurous, told me a few weeks ago when he was visiting, "Mom, is this ALL YOU DO most of the time - cook and clean and work in the yard and watch Netflix movies at night with a cup of tea?" And I told him, "Yes, that's what MOST of my days are like - not all of them, but most of them. My husband and I love nothing more than to run to the hardware store and buy stuff to work on a yard project together. We love painting a room or organizing the garage. I'm really looking forward to the spice organizers I just ordered on Amazon. We DO do adventurous things together - like go to England, or go to an Eagles concert, or a Dallas Cowboys game, or pub crawl once a year down 6th street in Austin. But we don't even WANT to do that stuff all the time, or even every week. We love the pace of our life JUST AS IT IS."
That's what I think younger people don't often "get." It's not that we CAN'T do some things anymore - it's that we've already done them and just don't WANT to do them anymore!
This question is directed to those who are above the age of 40.
I've always been curious about what goes through the mind of an older person. Do you feel more limited at your age, do you enjoy yourselves less? Do you consistently think about all the opportunities you ruined in your younger years? Is your thought process the same as it was when you were in your 20s or 30s? Do you still feel like there's plenty of time left to accomplish more goals in your life? I just look at some older people (In their 60s and older) and some of them look so frail. I wonder to myself, does this person still enjoy their life, or do they dread waking up everyday?
I just want a heads up, to see what I should be expecting when I hit my 40s and beyond. I'm sorry if this question might sound a bit ignorant. If I offended anyone, I apologize.
You should expect severe depression if you think being over 40 is 'old'.
At 67... time is running out. There are still so many things I want to do, but I realize I can't put them off forever. I still work full-time, but I realize that I can't work for another 10 years and still have 20 years of active retirement. My biggest regret is that I didn't manage my money well when younger. I "retired" at 35 and waited too long to go back to work, so now I'm saving for retirement at age 67.
I thought I was so smart at age 35. Then at 45 I realized I was even smarter. And again at 55. Now I can't remember if I was ever smart, but I know I thought was a lot smarter than I really was.
I've always loved nature and would think nothing of climbing up a mountainside or hiking 30 miles on a mountain trail -- in the dark. I can't do that anymore (damaged nerve resulted in a weak ankle), and I really miss that.
Life is good. I've been much happier since my mid-40s than before then. Not only do I want to wake up every morning, I'm thankful for it!
Me, I love being old (or older). Less stress, less worrying about what others think about me, less concern about looking perfect, more concern about keeping fit and taking good care of myself. This time in my life is just...more...relaxing.
Having a loving spouse and a group of friends I cherish are the important values in my life. Goals? Not too many. Less desire to strike it rich except in terms of living a rich life of experiences and meaning.
I've a fun bucket list of places I'd like to travel to....my top goal, right now, is to spend one year in a different country..I think it would be mind-opening..
As an older person, I don't wake up thinking, "Gee I'm old," no more than a young person wakes up thinking, "Gee, I'm young." But sometimes, looking in the mirror and seeing a face that is beginning to look more and more like my mother is quite startling.
Being this age is actually kind of terrific...it's more reflective and peaceful...without so much drama. Less driven.
Me, I love being old (or older). Less stress, less worrying about what others think about me, less concern about looking perfect, more concern about keeping fit and taking good care of myself. This time in my life is just...more...relaxing.
Having a loving spouse and a group of friends I cherish are the important values in my life. Goals? Not too many. Less desire to strike it rich except in terms of living a rich life of experiences and meaning.
I've a fun bucket list of places I'd like to travel to....my top goal, right now, is to spend one year in a different country..I think it would be mind-opening..
As an older person, I don't wake up thinking, "Gee I'm old," no more than a young person wakes up thinking, "Gee, I'm young." But sometimes, looking in the mirror and seeing a face that is beginning to look more and more like my mother is quite startling.
Being this age is actually kind of terrific...it's more reflective and peaceful...without so much drama. Less driven.
Wow, I really really agree with this post.
I'd like to add that yes - things are a little slower, and as we enter true old age, I figure they'll get even slower. You do have to be more cautious, because you realize with some alarm that you don't heal up as quickly as you used to.
I REALLY don't like the skin on my neck starting to get looser, and honestly, I just may do something about that. But not because I'm afraid of looking older - just because I JUST DON'T LIKE THE WAY THAT SKIN LOOKS. It's along the same lines of "Should I get that big hump in my nose slimmed down some?" (I don't have one of those, but if I did, I'd strongly consider cosmetic surgery.) My point is, it's not the AGE that bothers me, it's that I simply prefer my neck to be smooth. I won't look significantly younger if I get that fixed - I'll just look better. Maybe. If I do it. And I might not because I'm sort of chicken.
Best year of my life was 40. Had a GREAT freaking time.
I'm in my mid-50s now and still play air non-competitive air guitar. I didn't really think about "old" much until one day I was playing soccer with my dog and I kicked the ball over the house. Went into the front yard to throw it back over the roof and couldn't do it. That was a bummer since I used to pitch in college and could still hit low 60s at beginning of the century.
I get sore a lot more doing chores.
As somebody else mentioned, I don't care much about seeing concerts these days unless they involve a lawn, blankets and wine. Although I have some younger friends who burn CDs of new stuff they think I'd like.
I'm starting my second new business as I (and pretty much every 50+ I know) is unemployable despite the value we can still add to businesses. You'd think being a top 100 social media influencer in a top 25 metro would mean something... but not if you were born before Sputnik.
That last thing is probably the only real downside I can think of.
One of the growing old scenarios i dont enjoy is having a dream of doing something and then realizing you dont have enough time left in your life to do it or not having the health to do it.
I'm not sure exactly when we cross that line from "being older" to "being OLD", it kinda sneaks up on us. I really felt terrific until about 60 (sure, I had a heart attack at 42 and then a stroke at 53, but I shook those off) but at 60 everything started to go to hell and I realized I was in the "old" category. Health is still ok, but I have aches and pains I never knew existed. When I sit for a bit I am stiff when I get up and limp for a minute until I loosen up.
I never thought my body would start letting me down, but I guess it was inevitable. But it beats pushing up daisies.
My husband and myself are both over 40 and have been for 19 years. It doesn't feel any way in particular. I read an article where it said that older people tended to be more content with their life than younger people. I do not wish I were younger and having to deal with the world the way it is today. We have no medical issues but have worked hard by keeping mentally active, exercising and eating right. We take no medications. Most of the time, we don't think about our age at all and every once in awhile I say to my husband, "Really, almost 60 years old and isn't that awesome!" "Look back over the years all the places we have seen and all the people that we have met!" And, the best part is that now we are getting ready to write, not another chapter in our book of life but an entire new book as we pursue the plans for the next 20 years. You get tired earlier and I can't get up at 6:00 AM and still be going full steam at 10:00 PM but a lot of people younger than myself can't either but at least I used to be able to do that. The bonus is that I know how to more efficiently and wisely do everything so I still complete all the tasks. I feel sorry for the younger people who fear getting older and it really confuses me that they have nothing better to think about, to plan for. There was a depressing thread in the KS forum about some writer/radio person, whatever, that committed suicide at age 60 because he didn't want to go on and some chirped in that they had thoughts along that line about getting older and really, get a life!
I just don't think about my age. I never dreaded 30, 40 or 50 and beyond. I love life but do not fear death. You just sort of ease into old age if you are comfortable with who you are. If you live a miserable existence, well, I don't suppose it probably gets better with time. I surely don't ask myself "Where did all the time go?" I was and am too busy trying to make memories to really give a darn!
One of the growing old scenarios i dont enjoy is having a dream of doing something and then realizing you dont have enough time left in your life to do it or not having the heath to do it.
Well, if it's any comfort to you, most people I know who are over forty really don't think this way. For one thing, your dreams often change as you grow older. Things that once seemed so desirable just aren't - and it's not because you're too tired or old to do them - it's because of other factors, one of which is that as you've gotten wiser, you've realized that some of your former dreams were, well, sort of ridiculous or based on faulty information or ideas.
For instance, when I was in my teens and twenties, I thought it would be simply WONDERFUL to live in a penthouse in a huge metro area and be an interior designer. Now - not saying that's not a great career and lifestyle choice for some people, or that I couldn't have enjoyed it - but I sure as HECK wouldn't want to do that now - and don't regret that I never did it. Now that I really know more about the field, and more about living in huge metro areas...well, I just don't want to do that anymore and frankly, I'm glad I didn't waste a lot of time pursuing that dream.
That being said, I do think it's important, when you're about twenty five or thirty, to get together a bucket list of sorts - and to revisit that bucket list often and tweak it as you go along. For instance, I really would love to go to China - I've never been and it has always fascinated me. So...I need to go! For years and years I wanted to go to England...and I went this summer, finally! WOOHOOOOOO!!! I want to go back to school and take some more art classes...so...I need to do it! (And I will.)
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I still have a lot of nerve damage to my lips and chin (numb areas) and had to have a couple of rounds of reconstructive surgery/cosmetic surgery. Yep - pretty dramatic - especially for a young girl in her teens (some of the cosmetic surgery couldn't be done till my mouth finished maturing).
But it beats pushing up daisies.
I surely don't ask myself "Where did all the time go?" I was and am too busy trying to make memories to really give a darn!
