Is anyone else totally shocked by their own age?

[Darkdiamond]

I feel like the last time I checked, I was around 29. I'm now 41 and feel like I've lost a decade! I've young kids, including a toddler so have spent the past 9 years pregnant, breastfeeding and in the thick of nappies, potty training, Paw Patrol and all things Young Kids. It has kid of blindsided me to the fact that I'm actually middle aged. In my head I'm late twenties and feel like things have been on pause since then (in a good way). I have friends around the same age with teenagers, kids at uni etc and I honestly don't think I'm old enough for that to even be possible, but it is? I was brushing my hair and caught sight of my hands and noticed they have aged a lot. Then I thought, yeah but you're in your 40s now! I'm still having regular periods, just stopped breastfeeding 6 months ago and I just don't feel any different!

Anybody else?

Me too, OP.

I mean, I'm healthy and financially ok and have been very lucky my wider family has not seen much premature death - indeed, in some cases they are very long lived indeed. So it's not a complaint.

But I am 44 and I do often think: fuck me, I'm gonna be 50 in a few years time! What the hell happened to my 30s!!! They were great fun and seem to have been over in the blink of an eye. I swear I only got about 5 years of the full decade.

Like, I started to review my pension and suddenly realised I have 16 years left until I am 60 when I might, reasonably, want to retire or at least slow down my work and take more time for myself. It's made me panic a bit and up my contributions.

45 in a few days! Crazy. I think I’ll feel 37 forever, the age DH and I were when he died 😭 it doesn’t make sense that I’m older than him.

Ha! Yes. I'm the same age as you OP. I was recently out with a friend and we were reminiscing about an incredibly fun night out we'd had for a fairly recent birthday of mine and then realised that it was would be NINE years ago on my next birthday.

I have to work out my age on a calculator because I've lost track and can't believe where all that time has gone

I am 28 in my head, 48 if anyone asks but in reality i am closer to 60 than i am 50 and knowing you are in the last 1/3 of your life is bloody terrifying.
The one thing i am really thankful for is having my children in my teens early 20s. I have had the pleasure of watching them reach their 30s, i have the utter joy of my Grandchildren whilst i am still young enough to run after them, my eldest grandchild is due to finish school and we will be heading off on a European adventure together and in time i may just get to meet my Great Grandchildren. I am glad that my children didn't loose me when they were young like i lost my Mum, she was an older Mother when she had me, losing her before i finished having my own children had a huge impact on me.
I refuse to in my 50s, i am sticking to 48 forever even though my DH has his bus pass.
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I'm 51 but in my head I'm 38. My Dad is in his 80's and likes to think he's 21. My Mum has Alzheimer's and is always deeply shocked to see an old lady in the mirror! I'm drifting that way too... not aided by teenage dd who likes to remind me I'm getting old!

Not really there is a birthday every year to remind me.

Yep. My 'little' brother had his fiftieth recently and that really brought me up short.

I'm also old enough to be the parent of every single member of my team at work. Even the ones over 30.

Saw a thing saying "It's weird being the same age as old people" which I very much identify with

I totally get you. I turned 70 earlier this year. I'm told I don't look my age (I have grey hair which I cba to colour), I have two very active hobbies, am better than averagely fit for my age, still rock my size 10 skinny jeans and the majority (not all) or my friends are women in their late 40's to mid 50's - women who still work or run businesses, have school age kids etc - and I identify with them completely.

Where the hell did 70 years go?

Fuck, I felt this in my soul. 44 this year and no idea how it's happened.

I'm 61 and I still can't believe I'm so ancient! It happened too fast. I have two DC in their early 20s.

Since turning 50 a few years ago I've noticed that I get friendlier and somehow more respectful service wherever I go, which I think must have something to do with my mysteriously aged appearance. Or it might be that I'm just a bit more relaxed and friendly myself than I was when I was toddler-wrangling, so reaping what I sow. But it's a definite upside!

Yes! I'll be 60 next August. God knows how that happened.

I'm mid 30s and still feel 17 but with more confidence.

Absolutely this! 😳

Honestly, I'm 47 this year and I do not know how in the name of sorcery it's possibly.

Possible fgs!

Another one who's just turned 60 here! I'm treating it as the new 40. I'm not ready to be considered 'old' just yet.

I'm 37 with an 18 month old and I actually feel a hell of alot older. My DH is 54 but says that in his head he feels the same as he did at 18😂

I'm 45. Which came as a shock to me, on my birthday because I genuinely thought I was turning 44. 😂

DH will be 50 in two years and we have decided to start a birthday saving fund to do something "big". It's crazy - to me he is still in his twenties!

Yep, I had my first 3 children by 20. Had my 4th at 29 and my last at 32. I'm 40 this year and realised last week that I've been doing the school run for nearly 20 years with no break 🤦🏻‍♀️

I kept laughing on my 40th. It feels like a joke! It just cannot be that time yet?!

My eldest is 19, I’m 42 and I often wonder how the years went so quickly, it literally seems about 5 minutes ago she was a toddler!

I have 5 children, the youngest 2 are twins and I swear to god the more children you have and the busier life gets the more it feels like everything has been on fast forward. Particularly once they start school and time is broken up into terms.

I seem to be about 10 years behind myself and still think I just turned 30, but I still don’t feel like a proper adult 😂