Miss being young

[Misssf]

I’m not old, I’m 38. But I miss the days of being fearless, having hope in a way I don’t these days because I know how brutal life can be. I’m not a misery (I don’t think!) but life was different then. Light, free, full of expectation of the future. I know there’s good bits about being older but I just miss that feeling of being young. Does it eventually stop?

38 IS young to some of us! I've got kids older than you. I'm 64, sometimes wish I was 30, 40 or even 50 (only in looks). I'm happy to be at this age, because -

I no longer work (ill health, but still)
Mortgage was paid off years ago
Kids are settled with families
No periods (eventually stopped when I was almost 60!)
No responsibilities of looking after children (I can enjoy time with GC without having to have them 24/7)
I can go out, see friends, have lunch, etc., whenever I like
Nobody expects anything from me
I can get up/get dressed/get my pyjamas on whenever I feel like it
I can have a drink without having to drive anywhere (I used to drive all over as a care worker)

Perhaps you're feeling like you do because you're approaching the big 4-0. I remember being that age and reflecting on what I'd done, what I'd achieved, what I was going to do with the rest of my life.

38 seems young to me. My forties were my favourite decade. Loved it. I am not enjoying my fifties. Physical health problems starting, kids have left home, parents becoming frail etc.

It is a cliche but try and make the most of now. If you are happy now, then you don’t know what lies ahead. Don’t risk looking back to 38 and wonder what you were moaning about!

So far (50's), every decade has got happier.
I was certainly happy in my 20's, but I am far more fearless and free now.

I'm turning 40 next year and really freaking out about it. But when I turned 30 I felt the same and I'd love to be turning 30 now!! When I'm 50 I will long for the age I am now. I'm trying to remember this!

Jayzuz you’re only 38! Wait till you’re mid 50’s, it really sucks. My best advise would be look after your body, it looses it’s elasticity when menopause sets in.

I'm 37 and you couldn't pay me to go back to my late teens/early 20s. Shit boyfriends, money struggles, those first few crap jobs where you have to pay your dues and do all the awful office jobs. Also, I used to get terrible FOMO that everyone was always doing better and having more fun than me.

I'll take my 30s any day, it's SO much better.

I miss the hope and excitement of what I will end up doing. Shock I didn't turn out to be a media lawyer in the city earning 100k. I wish I could go back and change things. Youth really is wasted on the young. I now understand this saying.

I had fun but I don’t hanker for that time. I much prefer now. More settled, less concerned about the small things and nice stuff around me

I don't want to be young again, I'm happy with my life now. But I do wish I was less tired.

Yes to this!

I’m 42 and had a nostalgic dance party with my 7 year old daughter earlier to Grease 1 and 2, Dirty Dancing and the audition scene from Save the Last Dance.

It reawoke memories in me when I was young, free, energetic and the world was so full of possibilities. I felt optimistic and believed in people before I’d really been let down.

I’m also generally happy with my lot but the last few years have kicked my arse, I gave up alcohol and improve my health and life has been very heavy and hard at times from birth traumas and friendship fallouts to losing both my parents.

I think it’s ok to have nostalgia for a time when I we were carefree and naieve and not yet tainted by the huge responsibility and heartache of what being a grown up can be!

Of course I’m sure women my age who have lived through little adversity don’t feel the same. In fact my boss is one of them and I admire her zest for life still, her wire circle of friends and the fact she somehow still parties and boozes and socialises most weekends!

I feel the opposite. Responsible for little humans, working, homeowner make my own decisions and have got good mental health far better than my teenage years

I'd gladly swap you for mid 50s. You'll look back at pictures of yourself at 40 and think how young you looked. 30s are no age at all. Enjoy those fun years with young children while you can. So much more carefree years than teenagers and elderly parents.

I'm mid-60s now and every stage of my life has had its own blessings. I was very insecure when younger but have gained confidence with age which is a bonus.
The thing I find hardest about ageing is the awareness of the fragility of life. When you have lost friends and watched others battle ill health your world shakes. Luckily as @TiredOfSayingItAgain has said there are some wonderful compensations to getting older so, although I miss my youth, all is not lost.

I'm 61 and what I want is my younger body back... shallow, but I really miss a good stretch. Russian roulette on which bit hurts/breaks/falls to bits if you try nowadays..
Just be aware... YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN YOUR LAST GOOD STRETCH WILL BE! Relish the ability whilst you can!

I don't miss being young but I do absolutely agree with 'youth is wasted on the young'. I wish I had the confidence and enjoyment of my body and self esteem that I have now when I was young. I used to be beautiful and thin and likeable and I thought I was fat, ugly and no one liked me! I could have enjoyed my teen years and twenties, I'd love to go back and do it all again with confidence.

I'm 40 but now I'm worried about loosing my ability to stretch!

I know what you you mean OP I’m same age and I am constantly reminiscing about the younger years it didn’t feel as bleak as it does right now and I’m constantly filled with fear and dread for my DCs with the state of the UK and what else is going on in the world.
perhaps I was just young and naive and all this horror has always been around just never paid too much attention when younger far more concerned with always being out and having fun no responsibilities.

Same. I keep thinking of a poem I had a morbid fascination with when I was like 7

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other people’s gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practise a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Don’t waste time dwelling, one day you’ll realise how young you actually are now.

I miss the days when i was a size 12 and my mum did my laundry. Or the days when it was just me, dh and our non sleeping cluster feeding newborn. Ds1 is off to university in September and youngest is leaving primary school so i have been thinking a lot recently about when ds1 was starting primary school, looking so small in his brand new red jumper.

I'm around your age and currently have 90s cheese pop on brig nostaligi!

No. It gets worse!
I can be brought to tears by a song (from my youth) on the radio.

You are the youngest now than you'll ever be

Late 50s here . Yes I get the odd pang and wish I could go back to my 20s but the thing I wish I could do as easily as when I was younger is dancing ! It’s really the only thing I miss !

63 and would definitely like my 25-year-old body back. And I'd take better care of it this time around.