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thomasortega

thomasortega

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This topic isn't related to appliances, but us.

Sometimes, everybody feels old... It's normal!

But... as the years come and go, we start to feel older or feel much younger than our body is.

An other thread, about one of our friends going to a race, made me think about it. And he's only 40!!!!!
What is wrong about being old? Why some people can't assume the real age?

So... How old are you?

BTW, I'm the first to answer... My official age is 28. My real age is TOP SECRET!

Thanks to Avon Renew... LOL
 
> What is wrong about being old?

You'll be able to answer your own question in about 20 years. :-)

There's nothing "wrong" about being old. But at some point -- for most people, somewhere between their mid-30's and mid-40's -- nature starts making a U-turn. One can try and fight this change with diet and exercise, or simply deny it's happening, but it doesn't change the eventuality: your skin starts to dry up, your bones begin to ache, instead of being able to eat anything without gaining an ounce of fat, just looking at food increases your waistline. Hair stops growing on your head and starts growing out of your nose and ears. And on and on.

I wish to christ someone would have explained this to me when I was 14 or 15. I would have lived my life entirely differently. If I had children I certainly would explain it to them: people get 35 years (40 tops) of quality life, the rest is just slow decline and, eventually, pathetic clinging.

Flame away all, but that's my honest view of the issue.
 
I guess being old is better than....

....being dead. The young years, before 40, were great. The minute I turned 30, so did my waist. Until then it was anywhere for 23'' to 27'' nearing the 30 year mark. I had to buy clothes in the BOYS department. They were much more stylish and cheaper! At 40, your body parts rebel against each other. I have to take cortisone shots for tennis elbow and I don't even play tennis!!! I get one elbow feeling better and then the other starts aching. UGH. Now that I'm in my early 50's I see the wrinkles, skin tags, age spots, etc.... After a face lift (or two) and two hair transplants I'm ready AGAIN for another COMPLETE REMODEL. The upkeep NEVER ends. I guess I would still rather die old and ugly, than young and pretty. Mark Lightedcontrols
 
hehehe

I feel exactly the same...
But sometimes I feel so guilty when people believe I'm 28.
28+X= I can't accept it because my body still young. (fat, but young) (Thanks Dr. Rovilson and the wonderful duct tape! LOL)

In other thread, I mentioned I'm saving money to spend only when I get retired.
technically and legally (according to brazilian legislation) I can retire. But I feel so young, so "useful", that I believe if I retire I'll die in less than 2 years.

You're the right person to answer my quastions because we're on the same boat.

every morning, when you look at the mirror, what do you see?
I see my body like it IS (or supposed to be), not like it looks like today after creams, lotions, liposuctions, botox and liftings.

This is so odd. It's terrible! Can you imagine my panic when I see my white hair growing under my dark brown (garnier code 57) hair?
If I shave... I feel I'll look like Shrek! (not green, of course).

Now I can laugh about it, but I'm sure I'll cry a lot if I read next week what I'm writing now.

I feel like near the end, but there are much more to be done in this life. I'm afraid I won't have time enough.
 
Some days....

when I feel really good, or have made an obvious, big mistake of some sort, I feel like I'm 18 again.

Some days, when I don't feel well physically or something else is going on, I feel like I'm 78.

However, most days, I am very content to be my current age of 48. Even if I had the money for certain procedures, I don't think I would have them.

Most of the time, not all of the time, though, I like myself and where I am, and concentrate more on the people I love, the people who love me, things I have accomplished....things yet to accomplish....

What am I doing with what I've got? There will always be people who are better looking or smarter or richer than I am.

However, I have a few gifts and a few talents.....

Don't get me wrong. There are days when I say "DO NOT WANT," but they are usually rare.

Lawrence/Maytagbear
 
For me, it really seems like life really did begin at 40. I had more fun sex with more fun men, along with my partner of course, once I hit 40. Part of this is due to my interest in regular men who are comfortable with who they are and how they look. One of my hottest encounters was with an older "polar bear" type guy. If I see a paunch on a guy, that makes him real. The super hard and slim young dudes who are constantly working at their minimal physiques all seem fake to me.

I don't like that at 53 I'm getting more wrinkles, but I also know I'm still a viable commodity out there. My mantra to anybody over 40 is, you're not getting any younger. Don't deny yourself. One day you won't be able to get it up anymore.

There's something for everybody out there. Don't worry about how you look. Somebody you may not think is interested, probably is.
 
44 here

will be 45 in September. I am not in the best physical shape but I'm not that bad either. When I hit my mid 30's I started getting "barrel chested". I went from being average build to a stocky muscular build. I guess part of that was physical activity from landscape work as a hobby. I lost part of a lung a few years ago and have some health issues but I do what I need to to take care of myself. My hair started thinning about the same time my waist changed and suddenly my body got very hairy. I turned into a hairy stocky bear type. I don't mind getting older. What I do mind is the way young people treat anyone over 40 and have such a negative attitude toward them. Youth is indeed wasted on the young.
 
Greg, when you were 21 you didn't have an attitude toward people over 40?, If that's true, you were in a rather extreme minority. At least in my experience it was one of the privileges of youth. My friends used to refer to these older guys as "sugar daddies", because none of us who were in our right minds would even consider getting involved with someone that old, unless it was for our own financial or other gain.

Of course it sounds ruthless and petty, but that's what most kids are and have always been.
 
Actually Jeff

Since my teenage years I was always open to a wide range of ages. In my 20's I dated older men and men my own age. It was -and is- all about enjoying life. My partner is 11 years older. As I started to get older I noticed the younger guys turned their nose up when I walked by. A few years ago I was in the doctor's office for the annual check and when the nurse called for me to come in I walked past a coupple of young queens talking trash. One said he was tired of seeing UFO's around town, looking me up and down as I walked by. I didn't have any idea what that was. The nurse explained it mean "Ugly, Fat and Old". Well, I'm not fat but the beard is mostly grey now.
 
I Always Say I Was Born....

....In Nineteen-Nevermind.

One thought for those of us who are feeling old, though.

We're actually very lucky to have the chance to feel old. So many people - friends, partners and acquaintances - didn't make it through the '80s and '90s. By 1988 or so, I'd been to many more funerals than my elderly grandparents ever had. I'm sure many of you had the same experience.

Please remember those who did not make it, always. And know how fortunate you are.
 
Well I agree with rp2813 and oldhouseman and with what they said. When I was in my 20's I did date guys in their 30's. I've always been attracted to older men, because that's what I wanted a MAN not a boy. Now being 45, I still find myself attracted to men my age and up. I look at the younger guys in their 20's and early 30's and think "God how inmature they are." And If i'm a UFO than I'm proud of that, cause I don't have anything in common with people who use that term. Give me a MAN, a hot looking, weathered, masculine, knowledgable, man. This stigma of having to be young, pretty with a zero inch waist, trying to look like something carved outta cream cheese, just isn't real.
 
I'll be 50 in five months, which at times seems very surreal to me. My dad passed away when he was 51, and I now realize how young that is.

I agree with Sandy; Having attended far too many funerals and memorial services from 1985-1998, I'm most grateful to still be chugging along on the planet. I try remind myself of that whenever I get depressed or lonely or whiny.

And while some karmic retribution (yes, I made fun of middle-aged men when I was 22) has come home to roost in the form of embarrassing weight gain, a receding hairline, hair sprouting in places never intended for that purpose, the early stages of tinnitus, a loss of skin elasticity which forces me to lick my index finger to turn pages, bad knees and ankles,---hence the need to shuffle and grimace my way through the first steps out of bed like an old man---I'd still rather be here than not be here.

I find a fair amount of my youthful bravado and confidence have slipped; I no longer feel I can conquer the world, and it sometimes bothers me that I'll probably be on my own as I move into senior citizenship.

On the other hand, I have several decades of life experience to draw on, and it is fun to smile while listening to a 20-something pontificate on life, knowing they're really quite clueless, LOL.
 
Just thought of this

Older men (in their 40's and up) are like the Maytags of the 60's, 70's, and 80's. Built stong to last long, reliable, and dependable. The new ones (in their 20's to very early 30's) are like todays machines. They may look impressive, and even their performance is impressive, but after a short while, they give up. LOL--(just trying to inject some humor to this whole thing)
 
Well Frigilux

50 sounds young yet to me. I'm only 5 years away from it. Sure the human body ages so we have to be more maintenance minded. Our society worships youth and looks. That is shallow. I never kept up with the so called "fashion industry". I have a straight colleague that trips me out reading GQ magazine and constantly being concerned about how he looks. I think those guys are called "metrosexuals". Sure we all have to have some concern about our appearance but regular maintenance should cover that.

As far as I'm concerned life begins at 40 and gets better at 50. What you make of it is up to the individual. I plan on my next 30 plus years being just as good as the last decades.
 
I also have been into older men since I was in my teens. Back when I was like 14, friends across the street rented out a studio to some college guys. One looked to be way older than the others because he was tall, a bit chunky, and hairy chested. I'd fantasize about him. About 10 years later I had a neighbor across the street who often wore shorts only and had a beautiful tan and a torso covered in dark hair, with melting blue eyes. He was 38 and I lusted after him.

Physcial characteristics are what attract me, as age generally isn't a concern except in the case of a boy who is still in his 20's--I generally don't feel there's enough grounding in anyone that young. The low end of my age range is around 35, when most men have been around the block, know what they like and what they want, and the BS quotient is closer to zero.

There are lots of men out there who like men that are older than they are. There are lots of older men who don't think they can snag a younger guy anymore (if that's what they like) and they are wrong about that. There is something for everyone, and it's my feeling that men over 40 have higher quality physical relations than inexperienced youngsters do.

So Jeff, I guess I never subscribed to the don't-trust-anyone-over-30 thing, although if when I was 15 someone over 30 told me to get in shape and plan for the future, that advice would have gone in one ear and out the other.

My only wish is that the fitness trend had started earlier when I might have had peer pressure to work out and maintain a well-toned physique. At 53 it's kind of late in the game to reverse the invevitable effects of gravity. But the bottom line is that I still do just fine out there with other men. Maybe not every man I find attractive, but hey, I'd be crazy if I thought every man I'm interested in should feel the same way about me. My partner will turn 60 in November. He feels like nobody finds him attractive. He's so wrong. But I have to keep reassuring him. I'm hoping a planned trip to Russian River will result in at least one reassuring encounter for him.

Greg, you are sounding more and more like a hottie to me!

Ralph
 
> So Jeff, I guess I never subscribed to the don't-trust-anyone-over-30 thing, although if when I was 15 someone over 30 told me to get in shape and plan for the future, that advice would have gone in one ear and out the other. <

Well, I was commenting on the attitude of most 21 year-olds (at least the ones I knew at the time) toward the 40+ set. Somehow it wound up sounding like criticism of all couples with mismatched ages.

I'd be the first one in line to explain the attraction of mature men. I met my first long-term partner when I was 19. He was 31. We were together almost five years. But a 20 or 21 year-old kid with a 40-or-50-something man is entirely different. In every case, the friends I knew in those relationships wound up breaking the hearts of, and/or ripping off financially, their older partners.
 
I’m 49 and feel pretty much the same as I always have. Sure, I have a bit of white in my hair now and am a bit thicker in the middle than I would like to be, but I don’t worry about it too much. I’m still the same person, for better or worse, and don’t really feel old.

However, I am mindful of the fact that my family health history is abysmal, most previous-generation family members having died of heart disease or cancer, often quite young, so I know that I’m susceptible to those risks. I haven’t let that bother me much but know that since I’m approaching the big 5-0, I should probably start seeing a physician regularly for “wellness” exams. I keep putting that off.

As far as appearance, attraction, youthful perceptions, fitting into a scene, one’s place in all of it as age creeps on, etc? I don’t think of it. I was never any good at that stuff even when I was younger. I’m still not, and I probably never will be. It’s not important. Ultimately, what is meaningful to you will usually find you, or you will find it, regardless of how old you are or what you look like.

I am happy to be who I am at the age that I am. I have been fortunate to be able to do many things that I wanted to do over the years and am happy that I was able to do them, and I have found love and friendship along the way. I could say that the best is yet to come, but if it isn’t, what is is pretty damn good.

Thanks.
 
Ok, here I am 3 years ago

A bit more in the waistline than I would like but...

life happens. Yes, that is a hearing aide. I have never mentioned it but I am deaf in one ear and have some hearing loss in the other ear due to an accident about 25 years ago.

Most people never notice I have a hearing loss. I have learned to work around it. And an odd thing is I cannot stand high pitched sound since the accident (a car fell on me, long story..)

This picture was taken on a trip back home to the mountains. I grew up hunting and fishing in the area. I miss it but it is a memory. One I have pleasant thoughts of. I had one of childhoods that was much like the "Waltons" but fast forward 20 years.

Anyway, this is me. A little more grey in the beard now but pretty much the way I look now.

8-11-2008-18-21-41--oldhouseman.jpg
 
Another pic

the day I adopted another Boxer that I named Georgia. That is Richmond walking up.

Getting older means being wiser if that is a good word.

I wish our society was different about age attitudes.

The biggest problem we have I believe is that we segregate by age. If young people could be exposed to older people early in life and into early adulthood they would learn from older people about the basic things in life.

My thoughts.

8-11-2008-18-36-18--oldhouseman.jpg
 
Well, that responce took me

quiet by surprise.

Thanks for the compliment.

I never thought I would hear anything like that about a picture of myself.

Thanks for the compliment.
 
Well... I don't need to lie about my age because I'm not alone...

But, I'll still hiding it... LOL

My birthday is April 11th, 19something.

At least I learned with all of you that a wrinkle here and some white hairs there aren't the end of the world.
If I can be___ years old and look like 28, it means I still have a lot of time.

By the way, I think next year I'll have to make 29 because the "28" candles are half burned after ___ years celebrating my 28th aniversary.

And please, NEVER ask my age because I hate lies.
 
Age is definitely only a number.

Since my long-term relationship (11 years) came to a crashing halt a year and a half ago, I have learned to look at a lot of things differently. Basically, my new philosophy is, "Nothing is forever and put everything in your mother's name!" Another new attitude for me is when things are getting out of hand, I simply put my hand up and say "I'm all set with that." Trust me, it works.

Another step I took was to hit the gym 5 days a week, not because I thought I was going to turn into a power lifter, but for myself. It helped with the anger issues and it did quite a lot for my self-esteem. Also, I owe my soul to Weight Watchers. I joined in October and am 23 lbs. lighter and still losing.

My point being, age is a state of mind. You can do things to make changes in your life. Those of us who have hit the magic 5-0 (which I did last April) or who are even older know that we beginning the down slide. That doesn't mean we sit in a chair and wait for the end. We've got a hell of a lot of living to do.

The attached picture isn't the greatest, but it's one I'm kind of proud of since I can start to see some of the results of my efforts.

Ron

8-11-2008-20-19-21--kenmore58.jpg
 
I've been 21 for 25 years.....

Ok i'm 46 (47 Dec. 7th). Inspite of being single for 7 years after a 11 year relationship with Satan (my ex), losing both my parents in the past 3 years, I"m doing good. Life does get better but not always easier. AARP is knockin on my door for me to turn 50. I"m a little slower, more pensive, not as wealty as I'd like to be but - i'm not poor. I'm making new good friends all the time and my career is still fun. Life is good.

Jamman_98
Joe

8-11-2008-20-41-12--jamman_98.jpg
 
Let's not forget that in the gay male population (at least) ageism is perpetuated by the 20 somethings. When I was a 20 something, no one wanted me. IN my 30's, I spent 10 years with a guy who had a weekly addiction to Nice N Easy (from Clairol). If I ever hear or see the phrase "medium ash brown" again, I'll scream. Oh, the money he (we) could have saved if he had just gone and had his hair dyed at the funeral home! LOL (It feels good to laugh because he's been gone for a while now.) Anyway, he's the reason why I will not ever dye my hair. Fate arranged for me to always be the youngest one in my group of friends. I always had nicknames because of my baby face and thick head of black hair. Either I was called "Dondi" or "Baby Huey". Now you know why I have little use for cartoons or comic strips. I'm 43, bearded. The gray is coming in nicely, and I'm EMBRACING MY GRAY HAIR! (I earned every single one!)

One of the few GOOD things that has come from growing older, is that whenever I meet someone a lot younger who proceeds to spout off his "personal wisdom" about the world he lives in and what he thinks he wants to do, I stop him and say "no, buddy. I tried that. It won't work." I guess my biggest regret about growing older is that I dont' have any opportunities from stopping the next generation from making the same mistakes that I made. I really wish I could. As the saying goes: "youth is wasted on the young".
 

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