The one thing that makes my age tough to accept is that my age has always been tough to accept. I am one of those people who has always looked way younger than my chronological age. I looked like I was 13 years old when I graduated high school. It's not necessarily a good thing. It has always caused issues in my social and professional lives. Even now at 66, people think I'm in my early-to-mid 50s. I helped my neighbour (who's known me for 10 years) build a deck a few weeks ago and we were talking about retirement. He said "Yeh, and you're not even 60 yet, are you?" He was shocked to learn I am less than a year younger than he. But I can feel that I've slowed down. Quite honestly, I think a big part of that has been my sedentary nature since I quit work...it's not the entire cause, but I bet it's better than half of it. Damned inertia.
I find it terribly hard to accept both my age and the bodily and mental decay mainly because I think that I should be fitter and healthier at my age. I envy all those who are. I assume if I managed to get older, I might accept all that, say, at the age of 80 or beyond but not at 65.
I thought I'd be more unhappy about wrinkles and such, but I find that they really don't bother me. I suppose I can chalk that up to failing eyesight. I do hate getting physically weaker and having occasional aches and pains, but so far everything has been manageable. Since my brother died last August, I have been far too obsessed with thoughts of death and dying. I don't particularly want to think about it, but I want to find some kind of peace and acceptance when my time comes, if that makes sense.
I've noticed that since I retired and have less human interaction (I live alone), I'm losing my vocabulary. In the conversations that I now have, I search for words as I speak. That's never happened to me before. I don't like it. And I, too, could be fitter. A little exercise would sure help all of the above.
Talk about obsessions none of the males in my family have lived past the age of 71 I will be 72 in May I always feel like I'm living on borrowed time.
You may have seen some of my prior comments on this subject. Father died at 55, older brother at 53, lost a younger brother 2 years ago at 60. I'll be 67 in May. Somewhere out there is a piano just waiting for me to walk underneath of it so the rope can snap.
Lololol..least we have humor to share discussing our demise to come. Until early last year I looked Purdy dang good( so I am told). But this immune disease did a number on me last year- and now I just look like a normal ole mamawa. My hair is gray and very thin . The meds alone killed my hair. Have accepted the fact I am older and do not look the same.As long as I can keep my mind I will be okay. Remember..its not about living longer..its about living good while your still here
If I start feeling bad about aging, I just call my mother and have a short chat, and then I feel a lot better. (She is 97 going on 13..)
" There’s an old saying: “If you forget where you left your car keys, that’s normal. If you forget what the car keys are for, call your doctor.” To help keep your memory sharp, eat a healthy diet, stay physically active, keep your brain active with crossword puzzles or new hobbies, reduce stress.... Symptoms of normal age-related memory loss include forgetting the name of a person you just met, forgetting where you put things such as a purse or wallet, and occasionally finding it hard to remember certain words when speaking." My interpretation: When the brain is not challenged it tends to go into dormant mode. It needs stimuli to stay wake and function. This is in layman's terms. I experienced this when I needed to isolate for other reasons and realized that reading helps.