In light of the recent spate of birthdays (does 2=spate?) I was pondering our concept of what is old.
When I was about 5 or 6, I asked my grandmother how old she was. She said 22, so I figured 22 was pretty old. (She was actually 45 or 46 at the time.)
In my teens, I did the math and determined that I’d be 46 in the year 2000, which seemed ridiculously far off, therefore pretty old.
Now, at 61, old=80s. My inlaws are in their mid-80s, and their age is most definitely evident. My mom is 81, and she’s admitted to lacking the endurance of a few years back, so she’s gotten rid of several of her gardens to reduce her workload. Doesn’t stop her from taking numerous cruises, tho!
From where you sit now, or where you’ve sat in the past, what age do/did you see as old?
When I was a kid, anything over 20 seemed old. Then I also did the calculation of how old I’d be in 2000 and that seemed even older. Every time I get to a “milestone” birthday, I have to redefine my idea of “old” because I still don’t feel it. I still do a lot of the things I did when I was in my 20s, still go and see bands, still go to music festivals and stuff like that so although I don’t feel like I’m ageing, I know the years will catch up with me eventually. My mother is 80, she has always been quite robust but since her accident in December she has started to look frail and elderly. I guess she is now my picture of “old”, I’ve seen her change in the last eight months and although she is still a very sprightly old dear, she’s somehow started looking smaller and really just “looking her age”.
Since I went to college as an adult, and since my sister-in-law is about 13 years my junior, I have a lot of friends who are younger than I am, and that keeps me feeling young.
Anyway, prayers, good vibes, crossed appendages, positive thoughts, and good wishes are needed today. I have an interview today for a position that would be a promotion for me. I’m ready to go, but I need all the help I can get.
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 76 very hyooooooooomid Amurrkin out with a predicted high of 95 for the day and maybe rain this afternoon. We shall see. I get to go to the east forty this mornin’/afternoon. Rah.
I feel old when stuff hurts that didn’t use to hurt so much. Like when I spend time doin’ yahdirk and the next day various body parts ache. Other than that I’m not sure how to define old. My mother is pushin’ 87 and goin’ strong. I know some people in their early to mid 90s who seem to be goin’ strong. Granted, there may be some physical limitations, but still, doin’ stuff like yahdirk, goin’ on lots of trips, drivin’ (some at night even), and livin’ pretty active lives. If I get to be that age, I hope that’s me!
Rockin’ good luck! Appropriate/inappropriate appendages crossed re the interview.
OK, that’s all I got. I need more caffeine and rumbly tummy is hongry. Then, alas and alack, irk purtification must commence.
“old person” means “anybody who is doing something that I won’t ever want to do”.
EWW…why is he doing that?
For a 6 yr old kid, old means anybody who doesn’t play the way you do.
Like an 8yr old who prefers to play baseball instead of riding the merry-go-round. Why would anybody not want to get dizzy?
For a 20-something, “old” means anybody who doesn’t want to join you at your bar. Why would anybody not want to get drunk?
For a 60-something, “old” means anybody who’s moving to an old-age home.Why would anybody not want to have a nice lawn and his own house to maintain?
In some cases, old is a state of mind. I remember a story told to me by a woman I once worked with.
She said when her parents were dating, they’d go out dancing and to parties and to picnics and whatever people did for fun in the post-Depression years. She said from photos, it looked like they were having a wonderful time.
Then they got married, and her mother, citing a Bible verse that said something about “putting aside the things of a child” decided that a married woman doesn’t go dancing or to parties or anything else fun. My friend said her father was really hurt by this - all of a sudden, he was married to an old woman, not the fun-loving girl he proposed to.
My dad was 45 when I was born in 1953 and my mom about 38, so perhaps my ideas about ‘old’ were skewed, because I was used to being around people that were ‘old’.
I’m 62 now, and while I notice things (I mowed the yard last evening, and am feeling it this morning) and move a bit slower, I still don’t think of myself as ‘old’. My dad lived to age 91, a lot of my family members made it to 90+, and I have every intention of living forever (or dying in the attempt).
I have a button on my wall at work (actually, I have over 100 buttons, collected from varoious SF conventions over the years) that says “Growing Old is Mandatory; Growing Up is Optional”. I try to remember that. I suspect a lot of other MMP’ers do to.
Heading back to O-Hi-O Friday for the 50th Anniversary of High Scool soccer at my old H.S., and induction of several folks I knew into the Soccer hall of fame there (it won’t be me, I was/am a terrible player).
I used to think my mom was old–she was 30! Then when I was older and had learned math a little better I realized my mom was 30 before I was born. So I was complimenting her throughout my early childhood.
Now I’m 35 according to the calendar, but I don’t feel like it. 35-year-olds are all married fuddy-duddies with kids and I’m only one of those three things.
In African violet news, there are no more white bugs, but the leaves are all standing up. According to what I’ve just looked up, it might be getting too much light so I’ve put it in the bookcase for the time being. I’m also contemplating getting a cutting Just In Case. I don’t want a Just In Case, I want to keep my plant alive!
I’m 35, and I’ve noticed in the past few years that my physical stature/abilities are generally on the decline: hair slightly thinner where I want it, hair darker and longer where I don’t, eyes slightly worse, one or two ‘permanent’ aches, body more susceptible to exhaustion from deviances from my regular sleep schedule, less ability to gorge myself on any and all foods I want without digestive consequences . . .
. . . I wouldn’t say I’m old compared to the lot of you (you beautiful, beautiful people ), but I can see the path ahead with startling clarity.
I’m 58 and wonder “how the hell did I get so old?” But I’m not old. My sister isn’t old and she’s 66. I guess it is a state of mind. My mom died 5 days before her 90th birthday and was doing great until 6 weeks before she died. She was active, lived in a retirement village, hung out with her friends. My dad was 84 when he died. His parents were in his 90s, my mom’s mom was 87. So I got longevity on my side.
I do wish I was 27 and knew what I now know and lived everything. Why did I have to get to be 58 before I got so smart???
I have to go the dentist this afternoon. I may be needing a root canal which doesn’t bother me but sure cuts into my time.
When I was a teen (15-20) most of my regular friends were around 50. Being interested in guns and motorcycles I just ended up with the “old” people. Now that I’m a good bit past 50 myself, I still think of that as the gateway to “old”.
Just remember - growing old is required, growing up is optional.
I’m the second-youngest person in the MMP and I feel kind of old sometimes, though maybe it’s just because by my age, most people have accomplished so much more than I have.
But it depends on how you define success, I suppose.
I often feel like most people on this board are so much more successful than I am, but they’re older, and have had more time to be successful, plus I get the feeling that it could also be a generational thing, the older generation having had more success at finding work/earning money/etc. than the younger generation.
