"Old age begins much later than you might expect
A new study proves the adage that age is just a number. Plus! Twenty-five signs you're getting old":
Here, according to SWNS.com, an independent newswire in Great Britain are the dreaded signs of ‘old age:’ Chances are, no matter what your age, you’ll recognize yourself in a few of these. Like, who isn’t forgetful from time to time? And plenty of people of all ages choose clothing for comfort rather than style. So, take it with a large grain of salt.
I did, and provided my own responses:
1. You fall asleep watching TV or reading the paper.
Don't read papers, read the internet. Fall asleep if watching crap TV programmes, so mostly watch DVDs instead and stay awake.
2. You become forgetful.
Not often, and mostly about inconsequential matters.
3. You groan when getting up from a chair or out of bed.
Maybe, sometimes, depending on the weather.
4. You say ‘back in my day’.
No I say "back when", if I'm speaking or writing about the past, so what other way is there to speak about the past?
5. You choose clothes for comfort rather than style.
Always have but try to combine both comfort and style.
6. You repeat yourself.
So do lawyers, politicians, teachers. So?
7. You have no idea what is in the music charts.
And that's a necessity in order not to get old?
8. You insist ‘things aren’t as they used to be’.
They aren't - in some ways it's a good thing (segregation, slavery, World War II).
9. You choose places to eat because they play quiet music.
I choose places where they sell what I feel like eating.
10. You have an afternoon nap.
No. I don't , not ever.
11. You don’t know the names of current celebrities.
Yes I do, but what good is that?
12. People offer you a seat on public transport.
There is no public transport where I live.
13. You prefer to stay in rather than go out drinking.
Are you kidding? But there are no pubs where I live. I can stay in drinking.
14. You have a low tolerance for teenagers.
Doesn't everyone?
15. You forget where your glasses are.
I have several, so can always find one.
16. Choosing to meet friends for lunch or dinner rather than a night out for drinks.
Kidding again aren't ya?
17. Choosing a cup of tea over an alcoholic drink.
As if! Getting silly now!
18. Wear slippers all the time.
I do not possess a single pair of slippers.
19. You watch ‘old’ TV shows like Antiques Roadshow.
So? I'm interested in fine arts and antiques, that's not a sign of old age.
20. You spend weekends or bank holidays in garden centres.
I do not have a garden. I have never, knowingly, entered a garden centre.
21. Gardening is a hobby.
I do not have a garden. Oops - repeating myself! Sign of age? The questioner is repeating too. Nevertheless I am gardenless.
22. You only listen to music from your youth.
I listen to music from the youth of countless generations, including, occasionally the current one.
23. You don’t hesitate to complain about poor customer service.
Nobody should.
24. You always take an umbrella or coat out with you, just in case.
Yes - "Be Prepared". UK's climate taught me this lesson.
25. You get a haircut to ‘suit your age’.
I cut my own hair, always have, always will. It suits ME.
Old - nope! Mature - perhaps.
For passing readers, of whatever vintage, a wish for y'all (and myself) in words of Bob Dylan,
May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful
May your song always be sung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young.
I don't mind the aging process, in fact, I've enjoyed the ride. I never fit-in during my youth, as desirous as that seemed at that time, and I came to terms with that during my twenties and thirties by acknowledging and appreciating my inherent separatist points. I've relocated to various dispatches across the USA many, many times, which cast aside the familiar for the unknown, with its isolating moments that gave rise to independence and self-reliance.
ReplyDeleteWhen I turned thirty, it was obvious that I didn't have the same concerns as someone twenty, so I felt older. Then at forty, I again realized that I certainly didn't have the same desires and appreciations of a thirty year old. Again at fifty and again at sixty. This process has made me realize that as each decade passed, I felt older, but over time I realized that each of those moments I felt older, in retrospect I would later view that point as younger. So, at any given point, I am older than before, but younger than I will be...a continuum of "now".
It's unfortunate that here in the USA capitalism and its virulent advertising caters to the youth, thereby denigrating the elderly to commercial advertisements for plastic surgery, reverse mortgages, viagra, adult diapers, and the like. There are too many capitalistic, psychological reinforcements showing the aged population has a rough road ahead, if they even live that long...the more years one has, the more there is to fear.
Several years ago, my mother stated that she was glad she was now old enough that hormones no longer played much of a role in her decision-making processes...LOL.
This is Rob Brezsny's Arie's forecast for this week...interesting quote that fits your post:
ReplyDelete“'When I was young,' wrote French author Albert Camus, 'I expected people to give me more than they could — continuous friendship, permanent emotion.' That didn’t work out so well for him. Over and over, he was awash in disappointment. 'Now I have learned to expect less of them than they can give,' he concluded. 'Their emotions, their friendship, and noble gestures keep their full miraculous value in my eyes; wholly the fruit of grace.' I’d love to see you make an adjustment like this in the coming months, Aries. If you do, the astrological omens suggest you will experience a blessing like Camus’."
mike ~Thanks for adding your related thoughts and experiences.
ReplyDeleteI've always tried to ignore the usual emphasis on age as I turned the 30, 40, 50, 60 corners and tried to think more of it as an interesting achievement than something to regret.
It's all just numbers and is pretty meaningless really. There are 35 year olds, less than half my age, who are older than me in their attitudes (in my opinion anyway!) ;-) Some people are born "old" - related to their astrology, of course.
That silly list of questions I played with in the post asked all the wrong questions for me to have to agree that I'm "old". If they'd said: "If you don't have a smartphone", or "If you
don't do Facebook", or "If you'd rather read a real book than a Kindle".....by those yardsticks I'm "old". But I prefer to describe it as not "old" but "discerning".
mike (again) ~ Rob Brezsney's always a good read isn't he!?
For the most part, I think I'm finally learning to lean into and and even enjoy this new "Crone" phase of my life, though occasionally vanity and a few practical concerns (mostly economic) give me pause.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a very humbling process for me. Like it or not (and I haven't always liked it!), my life is much quieter now, with fewer close friendships and social contacts, other than the ones I create in my daily interactions.
As I've gotten older and my values and habits changed, so did my social life.:) The transformation has been pretty radical, though when I get together with old friends they tell me I look and seem the same, which makes me think I've become more of who I was all along.
Having spent time around the elderly and knowing what my mother went through, I know how easy it is to become invisible and voiceless as we age. If I let it, my awareness could weigh heavy on my shoulders . . . but I put myself in God's hands and do my part now to take good care of myself - as much as is under my control.
Ironically, one of the things I'm enjoying most now that I'm older, is the freedom I have to move around without attracting unwanted male attention!
Adding ~ For a while there, my inability to remember names was really bugging me! It forced me to get stricter about my diet and exercise routine, so now I'm feeling much better. So far, so good.:)
ReplyDeleteI don't fall asleep in front of the TV. Yet.
LB~ LB ~ Yes, vanity and the process of trying to lose it, or some of it - been there! We need to retain a little of it though, I think, just to keep things interesting for ourselves. It's not too a bad thing to care how we look, how we present ourselves to others, even going into our 90s (if still with all faculties running). :-) Best not to think about how it'd be with faculties not running. May as well enjoy it, make the most of it for as long as we can.
ReplyDeleteI never was much of a social butterfly myself, so didn't attract much casual male attention, it wasn't a problem then, so I don't notice its absence now.
Twilight ~ Hahaha! For as long as I'm able, I doubt if I'll ever completely give up on caring how I look. I am a Libra Sun-Venus-North Node after all!:)
ReplyDeleteI will say though, I care much less than I used to, having given away most of my fancier clothes and all of my high-heel shoes. At this point in my life, where am I going to go anyway? Most days I'm perfectly comfortable in yoga pants, a long-sleeved T-shirt and my favorite pair of tennis shoes.:) Now my idea of dressing up is to switch out the yoga pants for jeans, the tennis shoes for cowboy boots and then go to town with accessories.
Btw, I used to cut my own hair too. For years, when I wore it short. I wonder if that's an Aquarius thing?
LB ~ Oh yes -Libra - of course! :-)
ReplyDeleteI've thought that cutting own hair must be related to Aries Moon (Aries relates to the head I think). Could be Aquarius though (independence!). When I was very young I loved "doing" my mother's hair and her friend's hair.
Used to say I'd be a hairdresser when I grew up. Later, that didn't appeal as much, but I continued doing Mum's hair, perming, colouring, cutting, as well as washing and setting my grandmother's hair too whenever I was in the right place at the right time. I've cut the hair of my significant others, and my own for more years than I can recall.
Twilight ~ Could be Aries, hadn't thought of that. My chart has strong Aries and Aquarius influences too, so maybe, for both of us, it's a combination of both. I taught myself after one too many bad haircuts at the hands of professionals.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to have someone in the family who knows how to style hair. Your mother and grandmother must've appreciated you.:)
LB ~ Same reason I started, they used to cut off too much, and in the wrong places - must have been in the early 1960s when I began DIY. I continued to visit a hairdresser, but only infrequently, for other work - a perm sometimes, or colour, but they were never allowed to cut. :-)
ReplyDeleteI just simplify it to "age is a state of mind"
ReplyDeleteKelline ~ Hi! Great summing up!
ReplyDelete:-)
You answered those questions like a true Yorkshire woman, kid.
ReplyDeleteRJ Adams ~ LOL! How could I have done otherwise faced with damn silly propositions like those. ;-)
ReplyDelete