A line I still oftimes use is "I'm old enough to know better, but too young to care."
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Your grandmother was right. It helps to move and have a purpose.Nope, I was the "quiet, shy one" who never got in trouble. I didn't find my voice until much later in life, which brings me back to what the thread originally started about. Overall, I'm happier with myself now than I was in my 20s or even 30s. I've learned that my opinion matters, too, and I shouldn't be afraid to express it although I can do that and be tactful if the situation calls for it. Physically, the extra weight is a lot harder to get rid of regardless of how little I eat or how much I exercise and it takes longer to recover when the muscles complain about something I've done. Instead of giving up, though, I know it's even more important to stay active while being sensible about it which is why I keep up with yoga but gave up tae kwon do. I don't feel like I'm my chronological age, which is closer to 66 than 65 now and believe it's as much a state of mind as it is the years. I hope to be like my grandmother who lived until she was 96 and still was on her own and kept active as close to the end as she could.
What has made you consider your age of late?
Turning 44 this weekend. All i could think was that in 6 years i will be 50...
I feel 30-ish so 50 seems very far away...
I turned 55 this year. There are a lot of restaurants that have a '55+' menu. I have yet to take advantage of this but am excited I have the option. I will use it when I go for supper at 3:30 in the afternoon!
Age 42-44 has made me very aware of how my body is not as robust as it once was. I've always considered myself "tough" as far as injuries, sickness, things like that go. I was always able to shake things off and keep doing whatever it was I was doing, mostly working. I've visited the doctor's office more times in the last two years than in the previous twenty years. Things that used to go away or resolve themselves on their own as far as my health was concerned now seem to linger much longer and demand more attention as far as healing as they used to. It's irritating because I'm not any less busy than I was twenty years ago, more so if anything, but it seems like I have many more aches, pains, muscle and joint issues, and just overall health related items that I have to deal with now. Overall, I'd say getting older is overrated...lol Can I have a do over and be ten years old again? I was invincible back then, so I believed and seemed to be able to shake just about any type of injury off and go on about my business. Every morning when I wake up now is an exercise in "Ok, right foot ok, left foot, ahhh, pretty sore and stiff....right shoulder....forget about it...left arm, passable, right knee, not as swollen as usual, shouldn't be an issue today."...lol
Not sure when making sure all of my extremities are functioning, at least to some degree, became part of my morning mental checklist...lol
Joint and muscle aches becoming normal. Not notable, not to complain about, but normal.
Every day on the green side of grass is a good day. My dad would tell me, "Getting old is terrible, except for the alternative."
While I haven't taken advantage yet I think they are slightly smaller portions at a reduced price. I believe this is due to the fact that when you are older the amount you eat becomes smaller and/or for most seniors who are on a fixed income.I was at one of those restaurants but if you order from the regular menu, you pay the regular price even if you are 55 or over, right? I was so hungry at the time I forgot to ask!
Let me say this about that. Long ago when my dad was still able to walk (no later than 1997), he had terrible back and leg pain. He underwent hours of scanning, poking, and prodding, only to be told the problem must be in the nerves and the tests showed just what could be seen, presumably only bones, so he had to simply wait until it got better as they couldn't tell what was causing it.
Several years ago, on waking up I noticed my left ankle was terribly stiff and sore, which would wear off when it warmed up after I used it for awhile. This went on for maybe a year or two. Had my ankle hurt all day, I would have had it looked at despite the above experience with Dad, but as the day wore on the ankle felt better, only to be painful the next day when getting up.
Finally came the fateful day in December when I stepped on a back step which was cement covered by snow on top of ice. I fell only a step or two and shouldn't have been hurt, but landed in such a way as to not only snap but absolutely shatter that left ankle! I was two hours in surgery, receiving a plate and numerous screws. I progressed from two weeks in a splint, to a full cast, a walking cast, and a brace or two so it was five months between the accident and when I was able to wear a regular shoe. My sister (not the doctor, but the lawyer) asked how I was getting around so well with a messed-up ankle (the X-ray showed the foot almost separated from the leg--I'll post pictures if you want--) and I replied that leg had been unreliable for so long I'd learned to get along without it, at least when sitting down and getting up. My sister then thought I was really dumb not to have had the leg looked at earlier. I didn't get into it with her that when Dad, whose pain was much more severe, had his back and legs looked at, the tests didn't turn up anything and I didn't want to waste my time. I also didn't get into it that I hurt in so many places, how did I know the ankle was a genuine pain, worth checking out, and the numerous other pains were just regular, garden variety aches? If I had everything looked at that hurt, I would almost be like Indiana Jones at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark!
My niece thought since I was experiencing pain before, and the break was so sudden and catastrophic, I must have had a hairline fracture. I'm not sure of this either, because if anything was really wrong with the ankle, why did it hurt only when I first got up and improve during the day? To this day I am not entirely sure what happened. My general rule is still not to have any owies looked at unless they become severe enough to drastically impede my regular activities (and I have had several fitting this bill). I am pretty constantly active and the only time I rested much was this summer when extreme heat, dust, smoke, and road work rendered me somewhat immobile, giving some places a chance to at least partially heal.
Some of your posts should come with a warning, DiO. I’m glad you also found your voice. The old woman I sometimes catch a glimpse of in the mirror scares me. It took me a minute to fully grasp the meaning of how your grandpa died. Sounds to me like he was a very strong, humorous, willful, ain’t-nothing-gonna-get-me-down kind of guy just like his grandson.And, man, did you ever find your voice. I for one am glad you did, even if comes from left field. It makes semi-anonymity fun.
I’m the same in not feeling my chronological age, mentally. But my body feels older than my age... Much to do with a foolish youth. When I wake up in the mornings the first thing that comes to mind is ‘you need to power through this.’ After a half hour or so all cylinders finally start firing... with coffee as a required lubricant.
There are things from the past we miss and long for, again, and things from the present we wouldn’t want any other way.
“When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.”
Thank you.. I think. No, really, thank you. That is one of the nicest complements I've ever received.Some of your posts should come with a warning, DiO. I’m glad you also found your voice. The old woman I sometimes catch a glimpse of in the mirror scares me. It took me a minute to fully grasp the meaning of how your grandpa died. Sounds to me like he was a very strong, humorous, willful, ain’t-nothing-gonna-get-me-down kind of guy just like his grandson.
I just added it to my list on Amazon! Thanks Cori!Great news for you all! On Christmas of 2016 I repaired, cleaned, wrapped, and delivered 55 books as presents to children. On Christmas of 2017 I couldn't manage one! Too many pains in my finger and wrist joints, and on gunky books I use Goo Gone and alcohol to remove crud, and wipe down with extremely hot water so as little as possible damage is done to the book cover but as much as possible to my fingers! It was taking my skin off!
My sister, who is a doctor, told of having as a patient a man in his forties who laid floors for a living. He was having horrible pains, hardly able to work with his hands, until he bought a miracle drug. After taking it a month or so, he said not only did his hands not hurt,
NOTHING HURT!
This is the stuff:
I've been taking it for two months and one week and the results are astounding. I have been able to get back to cleaning and repairing books and other jobs I could either not do or only with great difficulty. Pain cream and patches and athletic tape were sitting unused along with skin lotion. Today I did finally have to use a couple of pain patches, having developed problems in my right hip and right hand which I am sure originate from sitting in front of the computer much of the day yesterday as it was too darn hot to do anything else. I spent much of the day listing books I collect which can be seen in a thread in the Buy, Sell, and Trade section of this forum.
Did you ever get this and use it? Your thoughts? OOhhh, I see you just made this post today!I just added it to my list on Amazon! Thanks Cori!
I've been using glucosamine everyday for years but I think it's not working like it used to. I have to find something new as my knees are starting to bother me again. It sucks getting old....Did you ever get this and use it? Your thoughts? OOhhh, I see you just made this post today!
Let us know what you think when you get it.
Yeah, someday we'll get together in our wheelchairs and you can talk about your knees and I'll talk about my back -- and my neck.I've been using glucosamine everyday for years but I think it's not working like it used to. I have to find something new as my knees are starting to bother me again. It sucks getting old....