Aging

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Do you feel really old all of a sudden? How are you dealing with it? Is this just me?

-- Meghan (meghan@blurredlines.com), August 21, 2000

Answers

As I aged I found that the lines are always blurred. Not mecessarily a bad thing, really. There are times when at age 79 after a comfortable nights uninterupted rest I wake up with eleven year old feelings and thoughts. Some years ago in the Sunday Parade there was an article on aging - content was about as expected, dealing with health, etc. But the cover had this neat picture of an aged couple, with her holding a sampler, made by her, which said, "Getting old is not for sissies." True, the sissies drop by the wayside leaving the rest of us to get our share of life's enjoyments. The realization that I took a step at a younger age to a level above what I was used to and looked back from the second grade to those behing me and talked about those little first graders, rather boggled me -- but I got over it as most of us do and go about our lives.

-- Denver doug (ionoi@webtv.net), August 21, 2000.

People I know keep getting married--and my friend Carolyn from high school is pregnant with her SECOND child. It freaks me out. My good friend Marc is going to be substitute teaching this year. I hate most radio stations. I'm only a junior in college, but sometimes I feel ridiculously old; I just want to run backwards, for fear that my whole life will happen while I'm not looking.

-- Cabell (rhymes with "Scrabble") (mizuonna@angstlust.com), August 25, 2000.

I've discussed this topic a little bit in my journal but I'll do it again since this is Meghan's forum and what Meghan wants from me, Meghan gets, damnit.

Anyway, when I was 29 I remember freaking out because I was going to be 30. I was petrified of wrinkling, aging, unhippness and generally being someone who was no longer in their 20's. Now that I'm 36 I've long since stopped freaking out about my age. I feel younger now than I did when I was 25, I don't look my age and my 'age attitude' has been seriously adjusted to reflect how good I feel about my life right now.

Get over it already, you cynical young'uns. You are NOT old until you're really old and even then there are so many older people that I admire for the way they live their lives that I'm looking forward to the rest of my life.

-- Sasha (sasha@travisasha.com), August 26, 2000.

[Gee, I don't know how I missed this question back in August?]

Somethings make me feel old -- no, not old, just amazed at how much time has passed, etc. but I don't think of myself as being old... I really have difficulty thinking of myself as middle-aged... I mean I no longer think I'm a kid (except, maybe inside I still do?)... but I don't think of myself as old. My age may be 57 but (except for various aches and pains *grin*) I don't feel that old... sort of think of myself as being 30-something... And yet... my 40th high school reunion is coming in 2001... and yet my eldest child is 32 and will be getting married in 2001...

So, maybe I'll be old in 2001?

-- Jim (jimsjournal@yahoo.com), December 30, 2000.


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