How old is old?

itsanne

I'm clearly getting old:

1 In every tv programme there is a disparity between speech and music: if the speech is okay, the music is too loud.

2 Canned laughter drives me up the wall.


However:

"Warning

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 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 practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple."
Jenny Joseph


I'm practising now, so I haven't got there yet .

seven-day-weekend

MY neighbour's dad is 100 next week.

That's old.

But he still lives on his own and can do most things for himself. He has a decent quality of life. I bet he doesn't feel old.

New_and_Improved_Me

This is brilliant thread…J

As they say growing OLD is Mandatory....Growing UP is optional….

I’m almost 40…err I mean 19…sorry typo….:)

In ALL my years I’ve never really felt any older than 19….my perception of OLD has changed….as it does with everyone as they, themselves become older….and my body sometimes tells me to stop acting like I’m 19….

Having said that a few years back....I do remember looking in the mirror and feeling so SO sad that I WAS OLD….must have been 35/36 at the time.

Now age is just a number and I am working hard planning for my retirement. So me and the ball and chain….err I mean darling wife can spend quality time together again…like we use to when we were young and free.

I think what makes YOU feel old is looking back over your life at points in time….when you were really REALLY happy….

I have wonderful kids and I adore them to bits…..BUT there are times when I wish it was just me and wife AGAIN…young and carefree….able to do things at a drop of a hat….rather than having to plan everything….and having to contend with…..the constant I’m tiered I’m hungry I want to go home…..etc…lol…

Just waiting for them to become old enough so we can leave them to fend for themselves…lol

Oh and for the record when we do go out as a couple..(Rare as it may be)...the attitude is 'Kids...what kids'...lol...

Age is a number, as long as you have your health....At nearly 40...darm typo i mean 19.....ive never been fitter....:)

Kayalana99

I'm *only* 22, but I feel old lol, I thought this was because it wasn't that long ago I was a kid but I guess Ill still feel like this when I'm 40!

Ive got 2 kids a mortgage and just started my own little business so I'm probably abit ahead of my years but what I really hate is seeing 15/16year olds birth year...I dont no why but like others have said I still feel 16/18 and when I see a birth year of like 1998 and Im born in 1991 it just looks like a REALLY big gap for saying I don't feel that much older then them!!


Does that make sense? lol

littlerat

I'm 22 and due to MH and the fact I'm likely to be in the 2nd half of my 20s before I can get to uni etc, I've been feeling old lately and like life has already passed me by. Most of my friends have finished uni, others have got kids. And I'm nowhere near where I expected to be! Stupid health.

In other ways I still feel like a teenage girl who hasn't quite figured life out yet!


Old though - one of my grandmothers was older in her 60s than her Mum was in her 80s, less active, less "with it". I know a few people in their 50s and some seem old, some don't. All depends on the person.

Hermia

littlerat wrote: »

I'm 22 and due to MH and the fact I'm likely to be in the 2nd half of my 20s before I can get to uni etc, I've been feeling old lately and like life has already passed me by. Most of my friends have finished uni, others have got kids. And I'm nowhere near where I expected to be! Stupid health.

I am similar to you. I had health problems when I was young as well. I also had quite old parents who started having health problems when I was in my teens (and my dad died when I was 21). I can't relate to people who talk about being carefree and having lots of freedom when they were young as I was always worried about my parents or my health. I totally understand your feeling of life passing you by. I would love to do some of the mad things people do when young, but it is harder now because I do have responsibilities and I obviously don't have family to fall back on if things go wrong.

Mojisola

littlerat wrote: »

I'm 22 and due to MH and the fact I'm likely to be in the 2nd half of my 20s before I can get to uni etc, I've been feeling old lately and like life has already passed me by. Most of my friends have finished uni, others have got kids. And I'm nowhere near where I expected to be! Stupid health.

In other ways I still feel like a teenage girl who hasn't quite figured life out yet!

One of our kids didn't go to uni until he was mid-20s because of years of ill-health. My Mum went back to college and retrained in her early 50s.

It is rotten to have to sit back and see others getting on with their lives but, if you can't change it, you just have to make the most of it.

The people I know who went to uni later than normal did much better than average because they were more focused.