Originally Posted By Lisann22 >>>Lisa... My mother and I had a conversation some years ago where she told me that when I got older I'd see for myself that INSIDE, we always feel 21, 25, 18 (whatever our own personal number might be ... >>> Love that! I guess that's where my Holy Cow moment came. I don't feel what I guess I thought 45 would be so it was like all of a sudden when did I land here. LOL! My surprise I think is in how little it really matters to me. My mom is a very vivacious, silly, funny, relevant, intelligent 64 year old - I hope to carry on the tradition. Keep the posts coming, really enjoying your viewpoints on age. ;>
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 I have never had a "Holy Cow" moment about being a certain age. I'll be 53 in August. I DO however have Holy COW moments when I look in the mirror or see pictures of myself lately Looking at pictures of even 10 years ago, I think "Holy cow" I sure don't look like that anymore. My "kids" are 32, 29, 26 and 21 and I do look at them and think "how the heck did they get that old?" and then remember what I was doing at their age.
Originally Posted By disney pete I still aint had a holy cow one most people around me at work always say another year slipping by but my girlfriend who is a whopping 17 yrs younger keeps me young plus i am a big kid at heart i will be 44 in november.
Originally Posted By bloona Im not looking forward to turning 40 next March...people keep reminding me about it too..lol.. Ive a few friends older than me, but most are younger, my best friend is 12 years younger, think that makes me act younger. Although I went to the gym with her for the first time last week and she kept saying how well I did and how she couldnt keep up. So that was a boost Physically- Im at my fittest (fingers crossed) . , , Mentally - Im far more confident than I have ever been. , , Finacially - Mmmmm So Im enjoying my mid life crisis! Ive lost two stone in weight, dyed and grown my hair, started dressing younger (oh dear), do more "me" things. So yes, life at 39 is good!
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost Of course life at 39 is good! You're just barely out of diapers. I, on the other hand, am about to go back into them. (just kidding, not yet) Talk about your circle of life. I remember commenting on that when I was but a mere child of 18. I drove a delivery truck for a hospital supply company. I found that I was delivering the same items to nursing homes as I was to maternity wards, just a different size. Talc and diapers. Ya gotta love it.
Originally Posted By wonderingalice <<My surprise I think is in how little it really matters to me. My mom is a very vivacious, silly, funny, relevant, intelligent 64 year old - I hope to carry on the tradition.>> Yes, she is! We get SO much from our moms!
Originally Posted By beamerdog Great topic. My wow moment was when I turned 50. It was my wish in life to make it to 50 ever since I found out that they told my Dad that I wouldn't make it to my first birthday. I'll be 60 in June this year. I feel about 18 on the inside. Is anyone else surprised when they pass a plate glass window and see themselves? Who IS that person, lol.
Originally Posted By LuLu I read that somewhere, that "older" people always think of themselves as about 25. Did our parents feel this way? - with the exceptions of Lisann's and Alice's, who sound a bit unique. My parents never seemed *to me* that they felt young. Was I just too young to notice? Or was it just a different generation? My parents both grew up during the depression and both lost immediate family members in their youth. They probably didn't have much of a carefree childhood, if that makes a difference.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost No I don't think it was life situations that influence it, I think it has much more to do with social and physical influence. My Grandmother looked and acted old in her 50's. She wore the granny house dresses with compulsory apron, granny shoes with support hose and her hair was in a bun. She looked old as long as I can remember. Heck, she was ancient when she died at 67. Society told them to act old and they did. We cannot stop looking aged but that doesn't mean that the brain keeps up. I look at the world through the inside of my eyes. Unless I'm near a mirror I do not have a constant reminder of my age. I find that if I am talking with a group of 20 somethings, I mentally feel like I'm 20 and I must really concentrate to realize that I am old enough to actually be their grandfather. That is a very sobering thought so I prefer not to think it. I don't really think I am any older than the people I am speaking with unless they are old and then I think that I am younger. I always make it a point that when I have to show my picture ID to someone that I say...I don't know who the old man in the picture is, but that's my license. I see people that I went to high school with and cannot get over how much they have aged. I'm sure glad I didn't. I often wonder what my high school girl friend looks like now, but, I really don't want to know. Sometimes memories are best kept memories. If I know what she looks like then I would have to admit how much I have changed as well. Don't want that.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 Interesting LuLu. My mom often comments and I'm always struck by how old dad's parents (my grandparents) seemed when I was a child. My grandma was 36 when I was born and it's unbelievable how much older she looks than my mom at 36 or me at 36. I'm not sure about the depression being part of the reason. I think people just viewed themselves as older at certain stages of life. My mom has a pretty hard life growing up and through her 20's and 30's; lots of death, drugs, alcohol abuse from others, physical abuse but for some reason her view on life was a lot different than others. I can say that my mom's side of the family has for many generations had a unique take on life. Much different than my dad's side. They were always way more conservative and older acting about things. Not a whole lot of fun or child like ways. Kids had their place in the family; seperate tables to eat at holidays, no whole family visiting, kids in one room adult in other, etc. I do not think one family was more mature than the other. I just feel that my mom's family measured their successes in life based on family, kids, marriages, etc. There was and is still lots of music, stories, parties on her side. My dad's family was always more about jobs, money and outside success. In my opinion they spent far too much time trying to be something they weren't. It's interesting because right before my dad passed he talked about being old. My mom used to get on him about that. He was disappointed in where he was in life and what he had. My mom and him would debate that constantly; she listing his daughters, their home, their jobs, family, activities, things they'd done, places they'd gone. My dad would say yeah but my knees hurt, my back is bad, my hands have arthritis, etc. My mom would say well you could be dead. LOL! I just think it's appetite for life.
Originally Posted By beamerdog Both my parents acted and looked much younger than they were. My father always joked about his age. When my DS was interviewing him about the depression era and whether or not he felt old, my father responded, "well, let's just say I don't buy green bananas anymore". My mother's dad used to reply, "well, for a 35 yr old I'm not feeling too well, but for a 93 yr old I feel terrific!" Humor is a great thing to have when you get older.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 Humor is great to have at any age and its even better when people from different generations can share it together. ;>
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo That is so true Lisa. My grandmother was an old 62 when she died. She had a very rough life (by her own hand). My fav great aunt (died age 84), and my great grandmother (died age 99) were both very young and spritely for their ages, I miss them terribly. My Great Grandmother was a bit like Sopilia in the Golden Girls, a little sassy. She had boyfriends, went dancing, loved Reno and Vegas and of course Disneyland. We took her on her first trip to DL for her 78th birthday, no one could keep up with her! She used to volunteer helping the "old people", many of them younger than her. And when she died, she was missed. There were over 1000 people at her funeral and wake at some stage. Amazing. If I could just have 1/10th of her penache and success I would feel fortunate.
Originally Posted By Liberty Belle My Grandma was another who was always very 'old' for her age, and who had a tough life (her 2-year-old son died very unexpectedly; my Grandma went into premature labour three days later and lost that daughter when she was 8 months old, then lost an 8-hour-old baby a few years later). My parents, on the other hand, are 57 and 58 now and I can't imagine them EVER really being old! Mum says it all gets better from 50. >>It was my wish in life to make it to 50 ever since I found out that they told my Dad that I wouldn't make it to my first birthday.<< Congrats Beamerdog! And thanks for your post - it really puts it into perspective when we complain about getting older, as most people do at some point or another.
Originally Posted By wonderingalice I can really relate to what Goofyernmost said about talking with a group of twenty-somethings. For me, I think it's more difficult to put my age into perspective because I never had children. My friends and coworkers talk about the things their children do in school and play, and all I can do is relate it back to something similar in my own childhood. It's weird. *LOL* Anyway, a good WonderingAlice vs. a twenty-something example: Having lunch with LVBelle a couple of years ago... She often brings her awesome scrapbooks to share. This time, it was that included photos from a recent visit with her family. There's a shot of her with two lovely ladies, and I say, "Oh, is that your mom??" She says, "No, that's my grandma... THIS (pointing to the one that looks like ME) is my mom!" *LMAO* In my mind, HER mom should have looked like MY mom. Of course, that makes no sense at all because I AM old enough to be LVBelle's mother! ;-) It's freaky... The older I get, the harder it is for me to even tell how old anyone is!
Originally Posted By chickapin My father-in-law is 96. He lives alone in his home, walks 5/8 of a mile every day, and does a little gardening. One of his kids or kids-in-law go over every evening to heat up dinner and visit while he eats. Every conversation about age is always "I have been so blessed--I have had such a good life--I am so fortunate--etc." There is never complaint about the trials of age, just gratitude for the good things. This man has truly enjoyed life! Truly an example to me.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 For me, I think it's more difficult to put my age into perspective because I never had children. My friends and coworkers talk about the things their children do in school and play, and all I can do is relate it back to something similar in my own childhood. It's weird. *LOL* ------------------------------- We share this in common. I'm childless also and I think that's what is weird for me too. I can't relate in that way. However, I do think it helps me have friends from many different age brackets as I'm not as inclined to think "well she could be my daughter/son" and throw up a roadblock to a potential friendship. If that makes sense?
Originally Posted By wonderingalice ^^I totally agree. It's our inner-selves that creates the friendships in my book. Back when I'd been with my employer for only about 18 months (I was 19 then), I put in and won a bid to work in a new department. There, we had ladies of all ages - the oldest was about 45 at the time... 30+ years later, we're STILL friends. Mary (her real name) was just a big, ol', fun-loving KID. She used to make lunch for everyone at her house (she lived very close to our office) whenever she was off on vacation. And even had slumber parties (complete with coloring books/crayons, Truth or Dare and giant take-out pizzas! *LOL* It was a hoot for all of us. And - along with my mom (Mary's actually a few years older), that attitude rubbed off on me. I hope it never changes. BTW... Ther proper term is "child-free." ;-) Hee hee hee hee...
