It really sneaks up. I'm 38 and it's hard for me to process that I'll be 40 in a few years. When I was younger I always thought 40 was when you start getting old officially but my stance on that has changed!

Ha ha, Chi. You are younger than my kids! i find that as I age, I look back and think that I had no idea how young I was at the time.

This sums it up for me

I'm 72, didn't feel really old until this past year. I blame it on too much just sitting around. Although last weekend I drove to visit my son who lives 200 miles away. They have 2 children, ages 2 and 5. I can sit on the floor and play with them, something my DIL's mother, who is 5 years older than me can't do. So I didn't feel so old then.

Old, back has been hurting lately due to no walking for many weeks now. Went to Lexington and walked around downtown this evening and it helped some. I'm on vacation and my exchange students are on Fall break so tomorrow we're going walking in a pretty and historic cemetery tomorrow in Frankfort. It overlooks the river. Later in the week we're going on a little hike in Raven Run outside of Lexington. Not too strenuous for this old lady. We may go later this week to Red River Gorge but I think my hiking days in that area are over. We'll just take the sky lift up to see the natural bridge and take it back down. Last time I did the hike down, in the Springtime, it nearly killed me.

No. But I am not old. I'll be 37 in January. I feel pretty good. I never understood the sort of universal horror around turning 30. It was certainly presented to me as a critical turning point by my elders. No disaster happened, I didn't gain a ton of weight, get wrinkles, or find it more difficult or painful to do physical activity, as I was warned. I feel no sense of foreboding at turning 40 either. Its just a number. My oldest sister nearing had a come apart when she turned 40 last year. I hope my spirit and attitude remains what could be considered the stereotype of "young." I do not ever want to be a grumpy "old" fuddy duddy. Then again, I think the fuddy duddy take on life will age you in body, mind and spirit more than the passing of years will.

I do find myself annoyed at my younger coworkers and their attitudes and I catch myself and think I am slipping into fuddy duddy mode. Then I remember that I get annoyed at my older coworkers and their attitudes as well and think I am slipping into whippersnapper mode. So its aaaaaaaall about balance clearly...

When I was 37 I was diagnosed with a cancer that ought to have killed me. It is like being fast forwarded to some different place. I was suddenly old. Since then I have gone backwards and forward but never back to that time when I was an inbetweener. It is what it is. Now I really am old at 69 which is for me something to celebrate. I have no right to still be here so I have to be amazed and thrilled to still be around. Now I have a new challenge . So it goes. So I am old? I could be dead. In the history of humanity most of us would be dead so we all ought to feel happy to be here.

I just turned 60 and don't look or feel my age. Some say I look 40ish and I can still get out on the dance floor and disco

I used to be taken for a much younger age for most of my life. Now, it has caught up with me.

Also, the daily aches and pains make me feel old.

I was feeling fine until I got some RMD charts for my inherited IRA. The IRS bases my RMDs on my life expectancy: 21 years! I’m 64! I’d better get going on my bucket list.

i'm 70 and suffer the ravages of osteoarthritis. it seems like every day, there's a new ache or pain. this condition has really put a dent in what used to be a very active lifestyle.

but hey, my titanium hips are only 21! lol

I have grandkids older than Amylou and Chi! And a health problem that cropped up when I was 29 made it doubtful that I would see 30. But miracles do happen, so here I am, I don't feel old unless I look in a mirror or stand up and walk around. Osteoarthritis is the bane of my existence. My mind and my body are constantly at war, my mind says "Oh what a beautiful day, let's do thus and such!" My body snarls back with "HA! Try it and you'll see just how much pain I can really cause!"

So I try not to complain and do the best I can. I am grateful for these last 50 plus 'extra' years I've been blessed with.

Rusty

I'm 72 will be 73 next month. I have never felt so old, beaten down, depressed and I look it. I can barely look in the mirror. My body is holding up, however I've lost a lot of weight. I weight about what I did in my teens.

Went through Shingles on my scalp in January, which left me with nerve damage on my scalp which is so painful. Lost my husband after 3 months of many hospitalizations, trying to demand his doctors, etc would do better. Exhausting. Then Covid, which made everything so much more difficult. Hospital wouldn't allow me to visit because of Shingles, then as Covid numbers kept rising, stopped visitations, on and on. Then I lost him.

Through it all I sometimes wondered how I was still walking, breathing. It has truly taken its told. The loneliness, the paperwork, just dealing with it all.

I think it brought my age to the front. I'm still functioning, but not like I was when I was younger. Maybe because when you are young, you have kids to raise, work, etc. At my age, you don't have those things to keep you in the here and now.

Yes, I do feel very old.

Jane

I remember turning 30 and buying myself Love cosmetics because I now was OLD! We had the slogan, 'never trust anyone over 30 'and here I was. I was doing okay until the pandemic and the almost total isolation of the past 19 months has really aged me mentally but I still do my four-mile hike on the Appalachian trail every single day up and down rocks without even breathing hard. Some of my friends use canes. So it is what it is. When my friends and I say the number, we think how is this possible?

I turned 59 this week, and mostly I don't feel old. Some days my back hurts when I get up, but it goes away after a bit. No other physical complaints, and I can still do pretty much anything I want.

Some days when I look in the mirror, Aunt Sally looks back. She's 92, but I look just like her and can see exactly where I'm going. On the other hand, she'll live to 112, so I have hope!

I don't feel old...knock on wood! I will be 59 soon! I have to laugh at people 30 or 40 thinking they are SOOOO OOOOOLD! When I look at photos taken of me when I was 40, I still look like a KID! Now I see an old woman in the mirror...I do not like it one bit! I don't feel as old as I look. I still feel the same as I did when I was 40 but I look older now. I don't have wrinkles, but I have the sag in my face. Wrinkles do not run in my family. You don't have to have wrinkles to look old, the sag is what makes us look old.

I must have pretty good bones because a couple of months ago, I fell while out walking the dog. I tripped, fell flat on my face and knees so hard that my nose was bleeding. At that instant, I realized how quickly your physical health can be taken away from you. I take it for granted, walking 3 miles a day with my dog. I was very lucky to not have broken anything because I hit hard and it happened so fast! UGH! A word of caution, if you are a walker or a jogger, always make sure your shoe strings are tied up securely! I fell because my dog stepped in front of me, I had to step to the side and when I did, I stepped on my shoe string loop that was too long. My body moved forward, but my feet were planted firmly in place and didn't move! UGH! Never in my life has anything so freak happened to me! SHEESH!!!!

I have a dear friend who is bedridden with arthritis and is 97 yrs old. She told me that she thought by this age, she'd feel old, but she still doesn't. She said she feels no different than when she was in her 50s. Bless her!

I think feeling old has a lot more to do with feeling healthy than old. When my body is strong and well, I feel young. When it cranks and causes me issues, not so much.

I do remember having a hard time when I turned 50, and now I think how wonderful it would be to turn 50 again!

But I guess I don't feel as old as I am. I remember when the pandemic hit and they were talking about the elderly being more vulnerable and I was like, yeah that makes sense...until I realized they were including me!! Wait...what?? *I'm* not *elderly*!!!

DH is amazing though. At 81 he certainly doesn't look or act it. He's often mistaken for someone in his 60s. Long may he wave.

Jane I am so sorry at what you have gone through.

I'm 82 and yes, I feel old but I'm still thankful for each day of life that I am given and I count my many blessings.

I peaked out at 60. Still in very good health but know my limits. Had to shrink my garden over the post 60 years as I shrunk......but to be fair it was more like a mini-farm. Get more stiff as time goes on too, the tin man syndrome.

I know this won't make much sense but I've always thought and believed that middle-age starts at 70. Maybe it's an attitude thing or something else but I've never let a number define what I should or should not do or should or should not think.

vgkg, have you tried flax seed oil? Get the high lignan stuff. Helps lubricate everything.

A gal I know has a bumper sticker that says:

Inside every old person is a young one wondering what the hell happened.

Some days, yes. Some days not so much. I will turn 75 tomorrow. That sure does sound old to me. I remember when I turned 60. Every morning my first thought was....I am 60. :( Now, 15 years later, I don't think of that. My first thought every morning, is Jody is gone. However, most mornings are good, as far as how I feel physically goes. I listen to a radio program on my phone every Monday thru Friday from 8 to 11. A couple of years ago, he was saying how old people ache all over. I thought, well, I don't. And I didn't. I had no pain. I had a bad knee replaced 7 years ago, and that took care of all my pain. Anyway, now, I can better relate.

I am not up to par this morning because an old friend called me last night at midnight. He (purely platonic friend) had called me earlier and I told him about this video on YouTube called

"Jesco White, the dancing outlaw." I stayed up much later than usual, in the office in the barn, watching videos. It was midnight when I went in and when I got in, I sent him one of the Jesco White videos from my phone. It just so happened at the same time, he was sending me one. So he called and we were on the phone until 1:30 a.m. Then my phone died....thankfully...but I didn't go to sleep for probably a couple more hours. Very, very unusual for me, because usually I can't stay awake. I overslept a little, but had to jump up to feed the horses. Emery and Rain eat four times a day and I have to have the time to spread out their feedings. So this morning, I feel like a crumpled up old spider that someone smacked with a folded up newspaper.

Usually, if I am rested, I get up and in a few minutes of walking, my joints loosen up and I feel okay. I take a handful of vitamins and supplements which make me feel good. I normally feel pretty good for my age. I have lost about 40 lb. over the years, and in some aspects, I look better than I did at 60, but I have a lot of lines on my face. I don't worry about that though. I try to look ahead. I know I need to build a house....the old house trailer I live in, needs too much to fix it up. We built a new barn before Jody passed....just for the tractor and his tools. I have other places to store them, so my plan is to convert it into a little house. It is 24 x 30, which is plenty big enough for me, plus it has a lean to that is at least 12' wide that I can convert also. So I need to stay focused on that.

Getting past the grief of losing my husband of 55 years has been hard and I don't expect to get completely over it, but I am trying to move ahead. My mother lived to be 94 and was in excellent health, until she fell and hit her head and got blood clots on her brain. I need to always keep in mind that it is very easy to get hurt at my age, and I no longer run, but I can walk fast. I can't dwell on how old I am....even though it is seldom far from my mind. I have to keep on keeping on.

Yes, I agree. In addition to health and physical issues making one feel older, grief can age one's heart too. I'm so sorry for all who are suffering the loss of those dear to them. Sending comfort your way.

Lily, have you seen the movie A Walk in the Woods? Nick Nolte and Robert Redford decide to hike the Appalachian Trail in their 80's. I think it's on Prime. It was pretty good.

I don't feel old, and often get told that I don't look my age. But I have gained weight which I'm not happy with at all. I ran into a woman who worked in Admittance in the cancer clinic on Friday and we had a great chat. She told me I look great, haha. I told her that I have Covid weight and she said who cares, you look good and you're healthy.

I was talking to a dr on a phone consult and he was running through the list of meds that I take. None. He said Nothing at all? And I said no. No high bp, my cholesterol is good according to my last blood work. He said I'm quite healthy.

I just got back from my 1.5 hour walk through the trail and around the neighbourhoods. It's coolish out but humid, and I was sweaty. I feel good now that I've showered so now I'll get down to work preparing Thanksgiving dinner.

Depends on time of day. When I get up I grunt and groan but after a couple of runs up and down the stairs, breakfast and a couple of miles walking I don't feel my age. My age never bothered me. Framed and on the wall next to my desk is a birthday card from my brother when I turned 40 "A dinosaur don't get that old", shy a couple of month 50 years later, it still makes me laugh.

This was on Facebook this morning just had to share here, it's pretty much how I feel (most of the time).

I know it is very hard to do at times, circumstances can be devastating. But thinking positive can be a big help!

Rusty

Like feeling happy or sad, my body/and/or mind feeling old to me depends on circumstance. A few months back I was very ill and diagnosed with diabetes and my body did feel old (my mind was sort of fuzzy at the time and probably incapable of feeling anything). This morning my glucose is under control, and I went for a nice ride on my trike, and didn't even think about age.

I don’t feel old as often or as much as I feel emotionally tired.

When I was about 30 yrs old, one of my mother's friends, who was probably in her 70's at the time, told me she still felt like a little girl. I didn't say anything, but I thought that was the craziest thing I had ever heard. I can relate to it a lot more now. My love for my horses makes me feel like I am about 12 years old....still that horse crazy kid I used to be. I just don't ride them because if I got bucked off, I would probably end up in a nursing home....so I have to be a whole lot more careful. My daddy said, "A durn (sic) horse will probably kill you some day." I stay cognizant of that too.

I feel emotionally and physically old since the illness and loss of my Dear Husband, and I am only 62.

Medically, age groups focus on the body: 60 - 69 is Elderly. 70 - 84 is Old. 85 - 94 is Old-Old. 95+ is Oldest-Old.

How we 'feel' at any age is partly due to how our individual bodies have deteriorated from their prime of health (about age 20). Disease and pain are debilitating at any age, but the older our bodies, the more likely it is we will suffer them. The longer our bodies withstand those effects, the less 'old' we feel.

I'm now medically 'Old'. I have a fatal blood cancer and am kept alive with infusions of various drugs. However, that's more 'background' than the spinal stenosis that compresses nerves in my back and neck. That pain is somewhat managed by a narcotic and numbing patches, and some of how *Old* I *Feel* depends on the severity of the pain at a given time and how much it fatigues me.

Other than that, I guess I feel 'mature' or 'experienced' -- although only within my admittedly 'sheltered' sphere of life. I've lived. I'm living.

I AM old. You got a problem wit dat? <snark>

At 99 I'm in the "oldest old" group. I have finally begun to feel my age. So be it'

Seniorgal

Seniorgal everybody should take a page of your book and wait until at least 99 to feel remotely old!

So far no. Life isn't easy but life is mostly good nowadays for me.

30 years ago I would have said yes. When I was in the height of my illness I felt old and and helpless and hopeless. I often wished I could just end it. Glad I didn't! There was hope and help for me. It just took a while.. 30 years to be precise.

I think I feel old because of life. So many things happen throughout life which are stresses. I wrote above how old I feel after the loss of my husband of 50 yrs, not knowing how to navigate life without him. I realize a lot is grief and depression, but also a sense of direction. Like being lost at sea.

I physically do not feel old. I do not have major pain in any joints, I have gotten quite thin so I move like I was younger. I know my bones are thin so I am careful about falling.

I think, for me 'feeling old' has more to do with a psychological, mental state. When life has hit you with so many things, you just feel exhausted. Sounds depressing, and I think I am, but some of us have dealt with difficult times over and over and you just feel you've had it. Especially, when getting older means losing spouses, family, friends and others you loved throughout your life. The older you live, it doesn't stop.

Jane

I'll be 85 in a couple of months, but I have still have a full head of hair. Having hair fools people into thinking that I'm younger, however, I don't feel younger.

Jane, I'm really sorry you're suffering so. May I suggest reading a book that really helped me and perhaps it will help you too: "A Short Course in Happiness After Loss" by Maria Sirois. I've also found meditation to be very helpful, especially podcast #26 on this page: https://www.meditationoasis.com/podcast It is a guided meditation that will support you in your grief.

It takes resilience and it takes time, but I believe you will find a new path... not the one you would wish for without him, but one that works for you in your new circumstance. Sending you thoughts of strength and comfort.

Annie, thank you so much for the links. Since its 1:30 AM I will look at those tomorrow. I saved the link for the meditation podcast and will look on Amazon tomorrow and will order it.

I've been so lost and depressed about everything (which is not me at all), I will try anything to get myself to heal.

Thank you so very much.

Jane

I did a pre-check-in for the physical exam I will have next week, and part of that included a "geriatric questionnaire." That made me feel old, but I am 71, and so I guess I fall into that category. "Elderly" sounds worse than "old" to me, however, but I guess it is fitting. So now instead of being elderly, I am old. I really did not start to have much in the way of health issues until I was 60, I guess, but I'm much happier now that I am retired.

I do not feel compelled to keep working, but it would be nice to have something to do for extra money. I never liked commuting, however, although at my last job, I only had to commute 1.3 miles, and that only took 4-5 minutes.

I would not mind commuting to Palm Springs from Cathedral City, and there is essentially no traffic there:

Palm Canyon Drive (Hwy 111)

There are also no good part time jobs in Palm Springs, that I know of. I'm not there full time, as I spend half my time in Los Angeles.

@lars......I just checked the price of silk ikat pillow covers.....OMG! Out of this world! Click to see: Silk Ikat Smokey Rose on sale for $89/Reg $239. I still think YOU should go into business for yourself on Etsy. You've got skills! ☺

In my mind I am not old. My body has a different idea. My knees are shot and it has made things challenging this year. Other than that, I feel young. I am in my mid 60's.

This a change from 3 years ago when our DD at the age of 27 was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer. I felt so old and defeated. I never let on as I had to be strong for her. Her son was a 1 year old and his father abandon them so DH and I took them in. Now they live with us. It is exhausting working 6+ days a week and coming home to a 4 year old but thankfully our DD is doing well. I have learned to smile and be grateful for every day. Those simple things make me feeling so much younger.

@jane__ny

Sending you hugs. I wish you could find a bit of joy throughout each day.

@moosemac Wonderful that your DD got through the cancer. "smile and be grateful for every day" Exactly that.

Nicole, I do plan to open an Etsy store when I get back to Cathedral City. It took me a while of studying to figure out exactly how I want to handle, but I think I have it figured out now.

Everyone seems to say that one should never put their store on vacation, but If I did not do this, then I would have to haul my inventory back to L.A. every time I went back and forth. I finally decided to ignore this advice and have my store open only when I am in Cathedral City. It will be much easier to ship from there, and I have much more storage space for my inventory.

I've already photographed a lot of my inventory, and so now I just have to work out how I want my store to look and how to describe everything.

I've bought quite a few things on Etsy (including a couple of expensive clocks) and have been happy with the site for that. I only plan to have the store until I run out of fabric, and I do not intend to invest in more fabric once most of it has sold.

Thanks for the reminder! The money will be helpful (although not essential), and it will also give me something to do in the desert, where I am much more focused.

In L.A., I cannot keep up with yard work, and I really need to hire some help for that. I'm just really distrustful of local gardeners, as they usually do not appreciate what I have and are capable of doing a lot of damage. However, at this point, I think more damage will be done if I do not hire someone.

I'm just not able to do everything for both houses. Maintenance in CC is very minimal, and we do have a pool service there. I guess I just need to pay for yard service in L.A. as well. This would cut into our budget for international travel, but that's on hold for now anyway.

I don't think I'm too old to do renovations, and we plan to renovate our kitchen in Cathedral City in January or February.

Hey, hello everyone. It's been many years since my last visit & comment here on this forum. I've missed some of you and thought of checking back to see how you all are doing. Saw this thread & enjoyed reading everyone's post.

Most of the time, I feel like I'm in my late 30's or early 40's. The only time I'm being reminded that I'm old is when I'm surrounded by my nephews, nieces and their kids. They're in their 40's and that's when it hit me that I'm getting old. My disability is also beginning to remind me how old I am. I'll be turning 61 in a few weeks and feeling blessed that I've made it this far. Ah, and another thing that I kept reminding myself to do, dress at my age! LOL....

@Lars....I see what you mean. I went in Wednesday for a meet-n'-greet pre physical. That questionnaire was brutal. ☺ The Dr was a pill pusher, not holistic. :0( It was awful! My blood pressure is 118/70....her assistant made a mistake?, said it was 130/70(I own a cuff & have checked it elsewhere too). Very frustrating! I did blood work yesterday. THAT had better be normal....I cook ALL our food from scratch....run mileage....she says I have a heart murmur....I don't think I believe her. She treated me like I was old "and" stupid. She kept threatening to put me on this or that pill....really! She said my bone density was probably terrible. I said....no...pounding pavement takes care of that. She scoffed. Said, "vitamin D". I said I take a calcium pill w/ vitamin D daily. She also gave "me" a referral to get the covid booster & I'm too young AND not high risk. ??

Nicole, please find a doctor you can trust. As we age, stuff will invariably come up. The value of a great relationship with a doctor when something, big or small comes up, is huge. This is a lesson I have learned from my doctor friends who hate going to the doctor ;-)

I agree that you should change doctors, but it is very difficult to find a good one. I like the ones I have in L.A. but I might have to switch to Palm Springs doctors in the near future. My physical is going to be this Tuesday, and I am changing my insurance January 1, as SCAN will be dropping UCLA, which is the network I am currently in.

I received an enrollment form for Blue Shield, but it was for Los Angeles/Orange Counties only, and I want to be able to see doctors in Riverside County, which is where Palm Springs and Cathedral City are. The nearest doctors to my house in Cathedral City are in Palm Springs, which is adjacent to CC. I don't want to switch my primary care from UCLA as long as I am spending half my time in L.A., but I want to make sure that I can go for emergency visits in PS and be covered by my insurance.

@Zalco/bring back Sophie!....I called today to switch dr's. Will have a physical in January with the "new" doctor. ☺

It's a tautology and a version of something usually said differently but if you were to look at all the doctors in practice in any given city or town within each particular specialty or practice area, only half of them would be in the top 50% of a ranking of clinical capabilities and accomplishments. The rest are in the bottom 50%. The key is to not get stuck with docs in the bottom 50% and with some medical care needs, not to get stuck with any outside of the top 20% or to fail to recognize the need to go elsewhere. Often it's easier than it should be to discern where on the scale a particular doc (and practice) seem to be. But not always.

Lars I detest the term elderly thrown about. It brings to mind some feeble person who has to have a full rime caregiver and be spoon fed. I am also old, just a year behind you, despite no really feeling old most of the time. I tell people I am old and they laugh at me. But when i see something in the news reported or hear someone speak about someone elderly, I am always shocked to see the word used for someone as young as 60 and in good health.