# The passing of my youth
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passing-of-my-youth/229270
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [February 15, 2004, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passing-of-my-youth/229270 "2004-02-15T00:58:19Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Jane\_D\_oh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jane_D_oh)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2004, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passing-of-my-youth/229270/1 "2004-02-15T00:58:19Z")
is marked by bifocals.
I went to the eye doctor yesterday. It was a trip I had been putting off since September. I finally decided to just go. I knew what he was going to tell me. I haven’t been able to read the fine print on labels for some time now.
“You need a little help close up” he said.
So, while I have been denying the aging thing for some time now, and really trying to not let it bother me, this hit me like a ton of bricks.
Gray hair I can ignore. You really have to look hard to notice amidst the blonde and I was not the first of my group of friends with gray.
I am the first to get bifocals. Yep, they say they’re not laughing at me, but I know they are.
When I told dad, he laughed. “My baby girl is wearing bifocals” I think that made him feel old.
So, there is no more denying it. My misspent youth has been completely misspent and I am now into misspending my middle age.
Anyone care to join me?
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### Author:  [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2004, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passing-of-my-youth/229270/2 "2004-02-15T01:36:16Z")
I’ve had glasses for years, so that never bothered me. It bothered me when my daughter got glasses.
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### Author:  [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2004, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passing-of-my-youth/229270/3 "2004-02-15T02:37:02Z")
I’ve worn glasses since childhood, but the switch to bifocals (actually variable focus lenses) made me feel old. I told my older sister, and she said she’d been wearing them for years. I never noticed.
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### Author:  [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2004, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passing-of-my-youth/229270/4 "2004-02-15T14:53:08Z")
Yeah, I felt the same way when I started wearing reading glasses, which was about – yikes! – five years ago. (I’m extremely nearsighted, and started wearing glasses in 2nd grade, but have been wearing contacts for the last quarter century or so.)
That and the first gray hair, uh, “down below.”
Welcome to codgerdom…
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### Author:  [@Toddly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toddly)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2004, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passing-of-my-youth/229270/5 "2004-02-15T15:42:22Z")
Just wait until you get the AARP newsletter. Then it really starts to sink in.
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### Author:  [@OldBroad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldBroad)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2004, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passing-of-my-youth/229270/6 "2004-02-15T17:44:10Z")
Misspending middle age is a lot more fun than misspending youth. You have more options, and you’ve had enough experience to do some true **quality** misspending.
Don’t waste it!
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### Author:  [@bindera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bindera)
#### Post date: [February 15, 2004, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passing-of-my-youth/229270/7 "2004-02-15T21:10:15Z")
Bifocals?
I’ve had trifocals for over a year now, and I’m a mere fifteen.
My mother’s convinced that it’s the fault of poor light when reading.
🆒
~literatelady88
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### Author:  [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2004, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passing-of-my-youth/229270/8 "2004-02-16T13:07:32Z")
> [@Toddly](#):
>
> Just wait until you get the AARP newsletter. Then it really starts to sink in.
Wait until the damned night clerk at the hotel in BFE asks if you’re eligible for the AARP discount. Bastard! I’m not even close.
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### Author:  [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2004, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passing-of-my-youth/229270/9 "2004-02-16T13:13:21Z")
> [@](#):
>
> _Originally Posted by ShibbOleth:_
> Wait until the damned night clerk at the hotel in BFE asks if you’re eligible for the AARP discount. Bastard! I’m not even close.
Or even worse, they don’t even ask, they take one look at ya and automatically just **give** you the geezer discount!
I woulda been insulted 'cept for the fact that I’m cheap and was happy not paying full price. 😃
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### Author:  [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2004, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passing-of-my-youth/229270/10 "2004-02-16T20:32:27Z")
How about when a woman who is nervous about her daughter getting married asks you if you have any kids who have gone through the wedding thing.
And you’re 35. (OK, I guess it’s possible, but geez.) I had to run right home and dye my hair!
My eyes have always been corrected but it’s the demise of my teeth that’s really getting to me. A few small cavities…a split tooth…talk of crowns and root canals. ☹ Off to pick up my nightguard next week.
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### Author:  [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2004, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passing-of-my-youth/229270/11 "2004-02-16T21:24:51Z")
I’m waiting for someone to offer me a seat on the bus.
😃
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### Author:  [@Jane\_D\_oh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jane_D_oh)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2004, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passing-of-my-youth/229270/12 "2004-02-16T21:42:23Z")
> [@OldBroad](#):
>
> Misspending middle age is a lot more fun than misspending youth. You have more options, and you’ve had enough experience to do some true **quality** misspending.
>
> Don’t waste it!
Thanks for that advice **OldBroad**. Now that I’m over the shock of the news, I am going to take your advice and enjoy some quality misspending of my middle age.
🆒