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There are those who age "gracefully" as mother used to say, and those who don't.
She also said "Your life shows on your face" EEGAD! I hope that one's wrong.
I just prayed to look good for my age ... and I think I do, thanks to L'Oreal and capped front teeth.
It' my hands that bother me. The skin is thinner and the veins are more pronounced ... but, I'm
70 years old and that's a blessing in itself.
Location: In a rural place where people can't bother me ;)
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I get very sad when I see my 80 year old grandfather unable to move the way he did when I was a child. I'm 30 years old now so of course he was 50 when I was born.
I still have 3/4 of my grandparents alive, but they are in their 80s now. One grandmother is showing signs of dementia, and all of them are noticeably frailer than they were a decade ago at 70. Most of my great aunts and uncles are dead - ten years ago, most were alive.
My parents will be 60 next year - mother is not in the best of health herself. Logically, I know most of our time together is probably behind us - they'd live to 90 if they are currently at the "halfway point." Neither are retired and they don't have the money to do so.
Dad started taking me to the gym when I was 14 and he was 43. If he continues going to the gym for 16 more years, that makes him 75. That's kind of unlikely in my opinion.
I sometimes have to realize I'm not a kid fresh out of college or high school anymore. I still feel young and get told I don't like 30, but many of my peers have kids that in elementary or middle school. It's hard to see myself as the age where I'm potentially the parent of a middle schooler
How do I cope? I usually point and laugh at their wrinkles and thinning hair! And ask what stagecoaches were like!
Seriously, though, none of us will live forever. Aging and dying are part of life. People are born, people die. Some sooner than later. Enjoy the time you have with them. The belief that those who are gone from us are in a better place helps, too.
I bought 5 of the same birthday card once because I liked it so much I wanted to send it to more than one person...it had a photo of dinosaurs on the front, with one saying "Remember Me?" and inside it said "I sat behind you in homeroom".
I figure as long as the person is in my age range and not much older (except for my brother, I don't have to be as nice to him) I can send it.
What gets me is the aisle in Party City for 40 and older birthday celebrations...every other aisle is full of bright, vivid colors and fun celebratory things, then you get to that aisle and everything is black and about death, with the Grim Reaper replacing Anna and Elsa as the party mascot.
Some comedian, can't remember who, always got good laughs with this one.....
"Elderly aunts, they always used to torment me at weddings, coming up with their hugs and big sloppy kisses saying "you're next, you're next". They finally stopped when I started to do the same to them at funerals."
Back to the topic, for some reason the changes don't seem to really grab a hold of me. What's left of the third generation core family has pretty much aged together quite well so I guess I'm used to it. What does surprise me though is how fast the young ones grow up.
It's sad to see people you love start their decline...but like other posters have said what is the alternative? Besides the hearing loss,sight loss and loss of balance I have noticed my 82.yr old mother dwells in the past...about happy,sad and bitter memories...she is not exactly a laugh riot to be around...unlike her older sister who is much more fun to be around...
This is my follow-up to a very successful Fashion thread, although the preoccupation many years back to when I first heard a Bonnie Raitt song.
Spoiler
I see my folks, they're getting old
And I watch their bodies change
I know they see the same in me
And it makes us both feel strange
(from "Nick of Time")
I've never seen a discussion much like it and I figured now is the time, due to people seeing more relatives around the holidays. I've specified blood relatives because others add complexity, and if you're married to a blood relative, we don't want to know. So, it can be adult children, parents, siblings (including half-siblings), cousins.....
This may seem more weird these days, where the younger generations live away from family, whereas in older times, several generations would live near each other and see each other regularly. It was normal for older generations to age and die, and then the next one, and then the next one.
It doesn't make me upset. It's what happens, if you live long enough. When you knew someone when they were younger, you still can see the younger version within the person...the eyes, the attitude, the body movements, personality.
It's more concerning the illnesses that hit when one gets older. I hate to see that, since I can't do anything about it, and it's a reminder that that will be happening to me, as my body falls apart.
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Now I look in the mirror and see her face. 
I bet their tune has changed.
