I'm feeling old these days

[ssd]

Am mid 50s, so not young..but with events in my life just now, kids moving out and moving on etc, I'm just feeling old. I'll never be 25 and buying my first flat again.

I'm not complaining, age doesn't bother me. But I'm just feeling the years just now. More of my life is behind me rather than in front.

But would you honestly want to be 25 again? Really?
Think about it. I personally wouldn’t ever want to be younger than 45 ever again
I’m 52 now.

I don't really, but its just the thought if starting out. Everything new, life full of promise.
And being utterly selfish. All me me me. Nowadays it feels like everyone but me..

I’m 57 and get where you’re coming from. It’s like being in a tunnel.

At 25 there’s loads of it left. At 57 it’s shrunk considerably.

I’d like to be 25 during the times l was happy. But the heartbreaks and anguish.., maybe not.

I'm a youngster at 52 but I feel old. Stuck in the middle of teen and remaining parent, starting to have health problems, friends dying, work doesn't hold much interest and I'm starting to experience ageism. Life satisfaction is supposed to improve from here though for a couple of decades!

Gosh, look at it this way. We were young before social media and digital porn warped a man's perception of sex. Before selfies and Instagram superficiality. Before mobiles and texting. We lived in the real world and when we were kids we played out on our chopper bikes til 9pm. No helicopter parenting. Saturday jobs, cheap cinema, live music and local pubs. I am so grateful for the simplicity of my childhood and teen years.

I really like your perspective Diana!

@DianaT1969
So grateful to have made all my mistakes before camera's, sm etc.
I realised at 45 that my best was behind.
I look ahead and see loss, Ill health and more disappointment.

I dunno @DianaT1969, I think standard porn did enough damage. I feel like I’ve loads to give, but don’t have an outlet in which to do so. My job is crap. I need to study! But I also need to work. I’m 52 with a primary aged child and my skeleton’s giving up!!

I follow my Dad's advice on this, don't think about it too much. He says he looks in the mirror and doesn't recognise the person who looks back as he feels 25 inside.

He also says he's learned three things in life, the first is that as you get older it's harder to remember things, and he can't remember the other two. This joke never gets old with him.

Another sincere perk of getting older for him seems to be a license to embellish stories of his younger years.

What's that saying, youth is wasted on the young .

I'm late 50s and feel it right now which is not really like me, I feel I have aged facially more than I would have expected in the the last year. I'm putting it down to the stress of everything going on right now, worry for the entire family, elderly parents, young grandson etc, the same worries everyone has had this past year I guess - I feel like I have been coping ok until the last few days and now I seem to have come to a halt.

I'm trying to look foward to warmer days, a bit of sunshine and the chance to dress up, I'm missing the company of women too, my dh is lovely but he ain't no hormonal menopauser who gets it! So so looking forward to some boozy lunches with the girls.

Your Ddad sounds like a good egg Mango. I'm older than anybody has yet mentioned. I wouldn't want the heartbreak of my younger life, but I miss being much thinner. Also, in common with Diana, I had much more freedom in my youth, than the youth of today. I grew up in not so much a one horse town as a one donkey village Oop North. Although we didn't particularly rate it at the time, we did stuff like...gasp... go off in gangs and swim in the river. Very Enid Blyton and hard to imagine today. I'm not quite so keen on my body showing wear and tear, and constantly battling not to gain any more weight, when I need to address losing a chunk of it.

You will never be this young again! When you're 70 you'll look back to now and think you were a spring chicken. Get on with it while you can. Not everyone makes it this far.

I feel old all of a sudden. This was never a problem until this year, 2021. I can only assume that this is covid related.

Its probably in part to do with over 50's being given the covid jab because of being in the "older" age group.
It feels a bit of a shock when you've been bimbling along not giving your age much of a thought.

Yes, its a combination of everything here. Also loved hearing about your dad @MangoChutnee. My parents are gone now, been an orphan for years and don't have much of a relationship with remaining siblings.
I miss an older person's person's perspective.

I feel like I don't have anything to look forward to now. Except old age and illness. Which scares me.

I look back on the past with nostalgia and longing. And rose tinted specs. I find it hard to be content in the here and now.
Maybe it's the combination of life events and covid.

Diana spot on! I
Am 46 & would hate to be 25 now. They live in a superficial bubble where every mistake is recorded.

There's lots to look forward to, ssd. I'm 69 and loving life. I don't feel any different from when I was younger. Part of the answer is to look after your health. Try to maintain a healthy weight, don't smoke, dye your hair (!) so that there isn't that obvious sign of your age. Take up a hobby, read books, maybe get a dog? Life is good.

Op you have lots to look forward too. You will see that. Grant yourself a moment to feel sad and acknowledge it.
Personally all the angst and worry at 25 v the wisdom to not give a toss and be confident and content at 60. No contest.

Maybe it's a mid 50s thing.

I'll never be 25 and buying my first flat again

If you were 25 in 2021, you're not so likely to be buying a flat. You might even be living at home with your mum and dad.

I know. My eldest is almost 25. And renting.

Maybe I'm nostalgic for the early 90s when I bought my flat. A different world then. I wish it was the same for my kids. Everything is a struggle for the young now. And the burden of that makes me feel old too.

It's also fine to feel weary (and have an early night). I lost my GPs very young so feel really grateful to have DDad's example.

His Dad used to tell him when you get old, if you bend down, while you are down there ask yourself if there is anything else you need to get. This one makes me smile.

Ddad also says when you get old you find yourself walking into a room with a hammer, an aubergine and a twenty pound note and saying to yourself what am I doing in here again? The objects change every time he tells this.

I think he had a wobble when he retired but he got into reading Stoicism. I had a look and there were some good quotes, I think Epicurus was one of the Stoics. He also does an absolute tonne of gardening, he doesn't stop all day.

Trying to stay physically active and connected to people is key I think.

Your dad sounds great 👍

I am 71 and in the past few months I think I maybe beginning to feel I am “getting on a bit”...... that was until I read about 50; years old complaining about feeling old. I have sons who are in their 50’s.... so now i just don’t feel too bad at all - thank you.

I think to myself “just keep on keeping on” - what’s the alternative??

As my old Grandma once told me “you are a long time looking at the lid”..

Enjoy your young years. Believe me these are “the good old days” you will be looking back in in twenty years time. Older age is a privilege not given to everyone.