# Struck by one of those "signs you're getting older" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 2, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struck-by-one-of-those-signs-youre-getting-older/534786 "2010-04-02T23:35:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struck-by-one-of-those-signs-youre-getting-older/534786/1 "2010-04-02T23:35:22Z")
I’m a couple of months shy of my 39th birthday. I’ve always heard this is one of the signs you’re getting older, but it never happened to me until today: I just got home from a doctor’s appointment, with a doctor I’d not seen before. I knew she was female going in, but I was rather shocked when she entered the room… not only was she around my age, probably younger, but she was really cute. WTF is going on here? Doctors are supposed to be, like, _old_. Not someone I’m distracted by when talking to because I’m trying to picture her naked!\* \*I’m referring, of course, to the automatic reaction straight men have towards hot women. I wasn’t doing it consciously, it’s a reflex that can’t be helped. ---
**Author:** ![becbec](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@becbec](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/becbec)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struck-by-one-of-those-signs-youre-getting-older/534786/2 "2010-04-03T02:36:35Z")
I sympathise! I’m starting to feel old too - the cops look like they aren’t old enought to shave. Uni students look like they just finished primary school. Doctors are supposed to be old and now they all seem to be my age. My parents just started collecting the pension. I am, however, younger than most of the parents of my daughter’s school friends so that makes me feel a bit better 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struck-by-one-of-those-signs-youre-getting-older/534786/3 "2010-04-03T02:40:28Z")
I teach 7th grade, so I am continually(at 31 years old) reminded how “old” I am. I have told the kids many times that while I have had several MP3 players, I’ve never had an Ipod. They look at me like I’m some kind of crazy old fogey. ---
**Author:** ![davey77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@davey77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davey77)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struck-by-one-of-those-signs-youre-getting-older/534786/4 "2010-04-03T03:10:19Z")
I, too, am a couple months shy of my 39th birthday. This little exchange really brought my age to my attention. A buddy of mine was telling me about all the quaint retro fun he was having with his 64 emulator. I thought Commodore. He meant Nintendo. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struck-by-one-of-those-signs-youre-getting-older/534786/5 "2010-04-03T03:45:14Z")
I’m 47. My now constant sign that I’m getting older (as if I needed another one) are these white hairs that pop up in my eyebrows. Now the head hairs, I can take; that’s been going on since I was in my twenties. I’m used to covering those up on a regular basis. But the eyebrows! For Pete’s sake! Even my mother has dark ones! Even a brow pencil is getting iffy for coverage. My only choice is to pluck them (which at the rate they’re coming in, it won’t be long before both eyebrows are nothing but pencil - kind of like my old lady aunts). Now, get off my lawn, you guys with the thirty-something doctors, mp3 players and video games! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struck-by-one-of-those-signs-youre-getting-older/534786/6 "2010-04-03T04:13:06Z")
> [@missred](#): > > I’m 47. > > My now constant sign that I’m getting older (as if I needed another one) are these white hairs that pop up in my eyebrows. And they’re not just white – they’re thick and wiry and they won’t stay in place! Wait until the hairs start sprouting from your moles – or are they called “wens” at my age? I dunno, but I regularly pluck wiry hairs from my face. And trim hubby’s ear hair. (He has to do his nose though.) Now that everyone’s properly grossed out, another sign is when kids you used to babysit become grandparents. ---
**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struck-by-one-of-those-signs-youre-getting-older/534786/7 "2010-04-03T04:17:50Z")
As one of the young fry around here, I am sticking my fingers in my ears and refusing to believe that this will someday happen to me (assuming I don’t trip and fall in front of a bus before then, given my klutz powers). lalalalalalalala ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struck-by-one-of-those-signs-youre-getting-older/534786/8 "2010-04-03T04:45:52Z")
Sometimes I have to look for a minute to tell if a picture is of me or my mother. Oddly, try as I might, I still can’t see my colleagues as adults. We are pretty much all mid to late 20s. Some of us are balding, we wear professional dress, and there are plenty of other visible signs of adulthood. But when I see my friends, I see a bunch of ageless people. Strange. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struck-by-one-of-those-signs-youre-getting-older/534786/9 "2010-04-03T04:47:41Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I teach 7th grade, so I am continually(at 31 years old) reminded how “old” I am. > > I have told the kids many times that while I have had several MP3 players, I’ve never had an Ipod. They look at me like I’m some kind of crazy old fogey. > [@AuntiePam](#): > > And they’re not just white – they’re thick and wiry and they won’t stay in place! Wait until the hairs start sprouting from your moles – or are they called “wens” at my age? I dunno, but I regularly pluck wiry hairs from my face. And trim hubby’s ear hair. (He has to do his nose though.) > > Now that everyone’s properly grossed out, another sign is when kids you used to babysit become grandparents. Yes! You know the ones - they go in all kinds of crazy directions. And what do you mean, there’s more to come? ☹ Og, I hope not. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struck-by-one-of-those-signs-youre-getting-older/534786/10 "2010-04-03T04:48:11Z")
Every college girl looks like she’s 14. That said, thats been happening since I was about 24. ---
**Author:** ![becbec](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@becbec](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/becbec)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struck-by-one-of-those-signs-youre-getting-older/534786/11 "2010-04-03T04:49:52Z")
> [@becbec](#): > > I sympathise! I’m starting to feel old too … My parents just started collecting the pension … I meant to say “MY HUSBAND’S PARENTS” have just started collecting the pension. Sorry Mum & Dad - I just aged you! Not that you will see this post… but anyway… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struck-by-one-of-those-signs-youre-getting-older/534786/12 "2010-04-03T08:11:25Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Every college girl looks like she’s 14. That said, thats been happening since I was about 24. Oh, yeah - there’s another one that hit me last week! I was leaving my university when I noted a pair of hot women walking down the sidewalk. They looked quite a bit alike, one older than the other - most likely mother and daughter. And it was the mother I was focusing my attention on… “Mmmmm, yummy!” ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struck-by-one-of-those-signs-youre-getting-older/534786/13 "2010-04-03T08:30:21Z")
Wait until Admirals and Presidents start looking young. ---
**Author:** ![scareyfaerie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scareyfaerie/32/3135_2.png) [@scareyfaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scareyfaerie)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struck-by-one-of-those-signs-youre-getting-older/534786/14 "2010-04-03T08:36:28Z")
The last doctor I saw at the eye clinic looked like he was just out of short trousers. How old does that make me feel? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struck-by-one-of-those-signs-youre-getting-older/534786/15 "2010-04-03T09:21:58Z")
> [@davey77](#): > > I, too, am a couple months shy of my 39th birthday. Then what does the “77” mean? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struck-by-one-of-those-signs-youre-getting-older/534786/16 "2010-04-03T10:19:47Z")
For my recent birthday I noticed two white chest hairs. The face has been filling up with white hairs for years. Now it’s spreading to the whole body. ---
**Author:** ![Booker57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Booker57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Booker57)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struck-by-one-of-those-signs-youre-getting-older/534786/17 "2010-04-03T11:00:32Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > For my recent birthday I noticed two white chest hairs. The face has been filling up with white hairs for years. Now it’s spreading to the whole body. You have two choices. Do not look lower, or shave 😉 A real sign of getting older is starting stories with “When I was your age” ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struck-by-one-of-those-signs-youre-getting-older/534786/18 "2010-04-03T14:17:50Z")
I noticed my former classmates at my 30th high school reunion looked rather…haggard. What a shame! And here I haven’t changed a bit since senior year! I can’t help but notice I’ve slowed down a bit, not flinging myself willy-nilly across the lawn or down the basement stairs with a laundry basket (I put it in a bag and throw it down first). And the eyesight seems to be getting worse every year. When I complain to my mother, she says ‘welcome to the club. It gets worse.’ ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struck-by-one-of-those-signs-youre-getting-older/534786/19 "2010-04-03T14:22:48Z")
> [@ScareyFaerie](#): > > The last doctor I saw at the eye clinic looked like he was just out of short trousers. How old does that make me feel? The orthopaedic doctor I just saw for my ankle… Jesus H. Christ. I’m only 30 and I think he just got up from his afternoon naptime. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struck-by-one-of-those-signs-youre-getting-older/534786/20 "2010-04-03T14:38:07Z")
The great big evil secret is not that “You get old”, it’s that the whole frikking world is conspiring to create new stuff when you’re not looking. Just because I say a line from Ferris Bueller’s day off and the kid looks at me like I’m an old coot. Then I say a line from the Matrix and realize it was out **fourteen** years ago… And I don’t feel old, it’s just that my knee binds up a little if I’ve been sitting too long…honest, it’s not a TRICK knee, per-se…it’s just…oh, is THAT what a trick knee feels like? sigh. Alas, I have my Mom’s Father’s hair, and I’m getting my Dad’s Father’s face (and my Dad’s hands…when did THAT happen?) Honestly, I’d say I still feel 26 inside, but I was in rotten shape at 26. I was in good shape athletically at 32, but 32 sounds old…So I’m an in shape 32 year old with the hair, skin, and knee of a 40 year old, who feels like 26 ought to feel. But I’m getting the patience of a 40 year old. I see the ‘young-uns’ running around, worried about ‘Shit that Don’t Matter™’ and think ‘Kids, worry about the stuff you can control.’ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/struck-by-one-of-those-signs-youre-getting-older/534786.md?page=2)