"I'm old" - I bet you aren't

[AndreaMarvell]

So many times I see people write this, and I bet that they are no more than 65.

So Dick Van Dyke, who can still dance (albeit not with as much vigour as when he was much younger), isn't old yet at nearly 100?!

My son is late 30s. His state pension age is forecast at 68.

Funny, isn't it that when furniture is old it's called an 'antique' (something valued for it's age and quality)?

I am young (54).

And who are you to decide that over 65 is old? As it happens I am 65, some days (most) I feel old. However to my dad (91) I am still his youngest daughter. It’s all relative.

I'm just about to turn 65. I feel about 40. I don't feel old at all.

However, when I was 40 I got pneumonia and was quite ill. For about a month I felt very very old.

So I think health, fitness and general ability to do stuff has a lot to do with how 'old' you are and feel.

I'm 56 and I quite like saying I'm old.
I don't feel any different from 20 years ago, better in many ways, so I find the fact that I've done half a century and then some, have lived through some events that are taught as history, saw bands in the 80s that are iconic for young people and so on, quite fascintating and awesome, when I remember it.
For instance, a young colleague made a comment about the miners strike, and I said "oh no, I was there for that and..." and then I think wow, I'm so old compared to you, ive actually experienced these things and that's actually rather cool.
So I am going to carry on saying I'm old because I see it as a positive.

I consider 46 ish+ old.
35-45 middle age, with a life span of 70-90 which covers most people.
Old however is not the same as elderly, which I do think depends a bit on their health. For example FIL was most certainly elderly at 65 (died at 71 very frail), however MIL I don’t consider elderly yet and she’s 70!
Being middle aged or old isn’t an insult, it comes to us all and just how it goes. We spend too much time trying to argue our way out of it.

When you're young you don't realise it. But as you age you know you'll never be 18 again!

I think the NHS consider 50+ old, isn’t that when the computer prompts them about falls risks etc then?
Can’t remember details now, but I’ve heard 50 is when you’re NHS/ medically considered old

My parents both got their bus passes and state pensions at 65, and they’re the current ‘old’ generation. You get a free bus pass at 60 in Scotland, Wales and London, so if anything the rest of England is the outlier.

I am brutally aware that my state pension age is older than that! 68 currently and I’m sure will rise again - tbh, I don’t count on getting one at all.

But that doesn’t mean 65 isn’t old! It is! That’s why we shouldn’t have to labour on after that :(

I don’t mean old pejoratively - it’s not a bad thing at all. Perhaps that’s the cause of confusion on this thread? Some people see it as a neutral descriptor and some as an insult.

I am 40 and suddenly feeling beyond ancient. I can’t imagine 65 (especially still working full time). I hope I feel as young and sprightly as some posters say they feel! Perhaps not having a toddler by then will make a difference…

That said, I really embrace being ‘old’ - or older anyway. I feel so much more confident and centred as life progresses. For many people old is a good thing!

Do you get any stiffness in the morning or feel tired?

Also 70, and I agree with every word!

Especially re the weed, but even better was the soft, squidgy black hash that used to be around from time to time.😄

I say it. I'm 53 but my body insists I'm 153. It's not up to you to decide how I feel.

0-18 child
19-24 young adult
25-65 adult
65+ older adult
75-80+ elderly adult

And if I had to define middle age, probably 40-60 but it’s a very loose term and not really necessary most of the time because what’s the difference between someone who’s 38 and someone who’s 45.

But basing old age on pension age is a bit stupid because the pension age is arbitrary. It was brought in at a time when the life expectancy was under 70. It’s over 80 now so the definition must have changed.

I’m certain I’m probably an oldie at 72 and fraying around the edges but I don’t give a toss!

I’m nearer 80 and my stamina is dwindling. I’m having a facial this afternoon, I expect it’ll knock at least 20 minutes off my age! ☺️

In the hairdresser, the girl in the next chair said "Oh I might get that when I'm old ....like 30"

God knows how she'd have described 63 year old me.

I just turned 40 and now officially consider myself old.

Well, I certainly am more than 65! A fully paid-up GOB (Grumpy Old Bag) or alternatively a LOG (Lovely Old Granny), i.e both at different times.

I had dd1 at 28, so was then considered an ‘elderly’ primigravida, and was down as such in my notes.
On the maternity ward was a new mother of 19 who was evidently aghast at my great age and said, ‘I hope I look like you when I’m 28!’ 😂

My mother had me at 27 and she was an elderly primigravida. I was born 4 days after her 27th birthday so she was only 26 when she was called this!

I see people saying their faces have collapsed and they are old on the beauty threads and they turn out to be 36! or 42 or something. Making us twenty years older folks feel like our faces really must need some type of scaffolding to hold up. As my lovely mum who looks beautiful at 79 says, you will never be younger than you are today, so that's something to treasure, whatever age you are.

My sister is 71 and doesn't look particularly young for her age. She is obsessive about not revealing her age. She was all in a panic when the doctor's receptionist asked her DoB. There wasn't even anyone behind her who would have heard!
I just don't get it. I couldn't care less who knows my age

How old I feel depends on how tired I feel - and that's ancient sometimes. However being 50+ I suppose I'm heading in that direction.

Downhill!

No, not at all. I get a bit raddled if I do lots of late nights or loads of days full of activity on the trot, but in normal life I don't get tired at all. But then I live alone and I can go to bed when I want, unlike when I was actually 40 and a single mum to five (which was probably when I was at my tiredest!).