# What Birthday Age Has Been The Hardest For You To Deal With? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 13, 2010, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birthday-age-has-been-the-hardest-for-you-to-deal-with/535949 "2010-04-13T14:38:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![melodyharmonius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melodyharmonius/32/21310_2.png) [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birthday-age-has-been-the-hardest-for-you-to-deal-with/535949/1 "2010-04-13T14:38:35Z")
So, tomorrow I turn 40. And to be honest, it really doesn’t bother me a bit - although occasionally I find myself pausing to try to grasp the concept that I’ll no longer be in my 30s. Of course, 40 is the classic “Over the Hill” stuff - and all that - so people keep thinking it is going to upset me. But the truth is - IMO - I don’t look 40 and I don’t feel 40 and I figure if I can say those 2 things - I’m doing pretty good - so who cares? However, I remember when I turned 26 - I cried and cried. I guess, as a kid, I always thought that by 25 I would be a grown-up doing all these cool grown-up things. All my childhood goals & dreams were based on 25 - I didn’t have any plans after that. So at 26 when I had gone to college, gotten a job and a husband and realized I was miserable - I just kinda fell apart. But now - 40? Bah. Whatever. **What about you? Was any birthday significantly difficult for you age-wise? Was 25? 30? 35? 40? 50? 65?** Lemme know! ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birthday-age-has-been-the-hardest-for-you-to-deal-with/535949/2 "2010-04-13T15:20:32Z")
Things have pretty much been going downhill since 0 as far as I am concerned 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birthday-age-has-been-the-hardest-for-you-to-deal-with/535949/3 "2010-04-13T15:22:18Z")
Haven’t had any crises here, although I’m only 36 so maybe they’ll come. I just can’t get that worked up over a number. The only number I really hung onto was turning 12 because at the age of eight my mother had told me I could get my ears pierced when I was 12 and I never forgot! ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birthday-age-has-been-the-hardest-for-you-to-deal-with/535949/4 "2010-04-13T15:24:17Z")
I in my 50s now, but the hardest one so far was 35. I think it felt just so . . . adult. I knew that once I was 35, I had to stop fooling around. I haven’t turned 55 yet, though. I have a feeling that one will be somewhat traumatic as well. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birthday-age-has-been-the-hardest-for-you-to-deal-with/535949/5 "2010-04-13T15:25:58Z")
30 was fine. 29 seemed kind of old, though. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birthday-age-has-been-the-hardest-for-you-to-deal-with/535949/6 "2010-04-13T15:29:31Z")
> [@kapri](#): > > I in my 50s now, but the hardest one so far was 35. I think it felt just so . . . adult. I knew that once I was 35, I had to stop fooling around. 😕 **I** didn’t get that memo! ---
**Author:** ![acolva02](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@acolva02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/acolva02)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birthday-age-has-been-the-hardest-for-you-to-deal-with/535949/7 "2010-04-13T15:35:34Z")
I havent had any issues so far. But my sister-in-law cried over turning 30…I dont get it. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birthday-age-has-been-the-hardest-for-you-to-deal-with/535949/8 "2010-04-13T15:38:04Z")
I had a little problem with 30. I’m having a bigger problem with 50, and I’m only 48! ---
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birthday-age-has-been-the-hardest-for-you-to-deal-with/535949/9 "2010-04-13T15:38:23Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > 30 was fine. 29 seemed kind of old, though. Same here! That was the only birthday that hit hard for me. I’m now over 60. ---
**Author:** ![melodyharmonius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melodyharmonius/32/21310_2.png) [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birthday-age-has-been-the-hardest-for-you-to-deal-with/535949/10 "2010-04-13T15:38:44Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I had a little problem with 30. I’m having a bigger problem with 50, and I’m only 48! See - you don’t look 48 either – so I say don’t sweat it! ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birthday-age-has-been-the-hardest-for-you-to-deal-with/535949/11 "2010-04-13T15:42:31Z")
Happy birthday, **melody**! I will turn 40 in July, but I don’t expect it to be too problematic since for some reason I’ve been thinking of myself as 40 already. I guess just to get it through my head that I’m really old now. 🙂 Besides, the saying I heard was, Life _begins_ at 40. ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birthday-age-has-been-the-hardest-for-you-to-deal-with/535949/12 "2010-04-13T15:43:31Z")
> [@sandra\_nz](#): > > 😕 > > **I** didn’t get that memo! Well, that was just for me. You, of course, may continue to fool around as long as you like. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birthday-age-has-been-the-hardest-for-you-to-deal-with/535949/13 "2010-04-13T15:43:50Z")
None of my birthdays reduced me to tears, and none have bothered me. But for some reason, when I hit 37, I realized I was, in fact, an adult and I’d never be a kid again. Nothing changed - it was just the realization that I was married, had a kid and a mortgage and a car payment and by golly, I was a grown-up! :eek: The other watershed moment was at 45, tho not that birthday. That was the year I got my first tri-focals. I went from no glasses to multi-focal progressive lenses. It’s all been downhill since then. On the other hand, at 56, I still have my own teeth, so there’s that! 😃 When I was in college, the wife of a friend turned 30 and she cried about it. I didn’t understand why it upset her so. She was married to a really nice guy, had 2 great kids, and a pretty nice life as far as I could see. But 30 really bothered her. Who knows… ---
**Author:** ![melodyharmonius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melodyharmonius/32/21310_2.png) [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birthday-age-has-been-the-hardest-for-you-to-deal-with/535949/14 "2010-04-13T15:44:34Z")
Thanks, **Dung**! I tend to think that the age struggle goes hand-in-hand with where you are in your life at that time, and how happy you are. At 26, I had accomplished what I thought I should - but it didn’t make me happy. At 40, I’ve not accomplished everything perhaps society thinks I should have - but I’m very happy. So there you go. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birthday-age-has-been-the-hardest-for-you-to-deal-with/535949/15 "2010-04-13T15:48:04Z")
I refuse to acknowledge that I am now 55. I refuse to order from a “Senior Menu.” Take your Senior Discounts and shove them up your posterior. I’m still young and vital, dammit! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birthday-age-has-been-the-hardest-for-you-to-deal-with/535949/16 "2010-04-13T15:49:34Z")
> [@melodyharmonius](#): > > See - you don’t look 48 either – so I say don’t sweat it! I guess in that I’m pretty fortunate. When I meet new people and they ask me my age, they’re always shocked. They usually guess about 10 years younger. Everyone in my family looks young. My sister just got her first wrinkle a couple of years ago, and she’ll be 50 in the next… uh, four days ago. Damn, I should have called her! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birthday-age-has-been-the-hardest-for-you-to-deal-with/535949/17 "2010-04-13T15:53:49Z")
The prospect of turning thirty bugs me a bit, and I’m only 26 now. It’s not so much the bit about being “old” (hah!) so much as the realization that each year seems to go by faster and faster. It’s been nearly a year since I graduated law school, and it’s gone by _fast_. As did law school itself. College didn’t go by as fast, but still moved at a brisk clip. I’m kind of afraid that real old age, and death, will seem to come rather sooner than I’d think. And I don’t want to die. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birthday-age-has-been-the-hardest-for-you-to-deal-with/535949/18 "2010-04-13T16:06:16Z")
50 bothered me more than I expected. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birthday-age-has-been-the-hardest-for-you-to-deal-with/535949/19 "2010-04-13T16:07:22Z")
45 is creeping up on me, it’s only two months away, and I am _not_ looking forward to it. ---
**Author:** ![melodyharmonius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melodyharmonius/32/21310_2.png) [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birthday-age-has-been-the-hardest-for-you-to-deal-with/535949/20 "2010-04-13T16:13:01Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Everyone in my family looks young. My sister just got her first wrinkle a couple of years ago, and she’ll be 50 in the next… uh, four days ago. Damn, I should have called her! So what you are saying is that you look great, but your memory sucks. You know what they say about old age and memories. You do, don’t you? Because I forget. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birthday-age-has-been-the-hardest-for-you-to-deal-with/535949.md?page=2)