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Getting older comes with a whole host of challenges and changes that almost matches puberty in a way. But the truth is that many of us don’t really accept that we are aging until it’s staring us right in the face.
A netizen asked “What was the biggest change to getting older that was the hardest to accept?” and older folks shared their best stories. We also got in touch with the person who started the viral thread. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own thoughts below.

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#1

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them No matter how I work at it - eating right, exercising, etc. - my body can't keep up with my brain anymore. One damn thing or another is always on the fritz. Back feels great, finallllllyyyyy???? F**k you, says my right knee, try this on for size! (collapses)

Good times!

PurpleBeads504 , Valeria Boltneva / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

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    #2

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them I'm not in vain, but I think it's incredibly difficult to lose your looks. Going from young vibrant looking to old and haggard. visually, you can see you're getting old, even though you don't feel old inside.

    mannuts4u , Martin Péchy / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

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    lindacowley avatar
    Auntriarch
    Auntriarch
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Helps if you were no oil painting to start with.

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    Michael Largey
    Michael Largey
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I've always looked like an oil painting. School of Hieronymus Bosch, unfortunately.

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    Paula MV
    Paula MV
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It was so strange when men stopped looking at me and flirting with me. I was a pretty girl, and I knew I had aged when that happened.

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    david2074 avatar
    David
    David
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I look older in the mirror than I do in my head. I've had a laugh at myself more than once by situations like - see an older person walking across the parking lot and casually think they are old - then realize, actually they look like they are about the same age as me.

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    lovemysuffolk avatar
    lovemy suffolk
    lovemy suffolk
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Oh gosh...THIS!! I don't feel old at all, like I stopped aging at 27. And then I see a photo and think who is that silver haired woman with a wobbly chin? Not how I envision myself at all.

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    Papa
    Papa
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    A year or so my wife took a picture of me from the side when I wasn't paying attention. A while later she showed it to me, and my initial reaction was "Who's that old man?"

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    Bilja M
    Bilja M
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I noticed the change after maybe age 43. Suddenly everyone kind of ignored me, looked right through me, like I don't even exist. Wherever I go, people stopped being nice (I wasn't even aware they were nice because I used to be very pretty), and not really rude but more like ignoring me. It's really worse than people being rude to you, when they act like you don't even exist.

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    moosygirl avatar
    Moosy Girl
    Moosy Girl
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I've been fat and ugly since birth, I'm relieved if people just act like I don't exist, they can (and do) really do much worse.

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    Alexa Saltz
    Alexa Saltz
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I do not recognize the face in the mirror. Standing behind an elderly gentlemen in line for the cashier, a group of teenagers behind me started giggling and one rolls her eyes and whispers "old people" to her friends. I turn, nod and smile - then notice the look of their faces. OMG! Me? I am "old people" too?!?!?

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    Verfin22
    Verfin22
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    What if you are 44, feel inside like you're 64, but pass as looks like 34? My insides haven't been as kind to me as my outsides.

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    catherinemonelle avatar
    Catherine Monelle
    Catherine Monelle
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I get this. I look in the mirror now and it's just a shocking disappointment.

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    janealexander37 avatar
    Jane Alexander
    Jane Alexander
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Love this old thing; by Anthony Euwer As a beauty I'm not a great star, There are others more handsome by far. —But my face—I don't mind it, —Because I'm behind it— It's the people in front that I jar.

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    tlilly avatar
    Gracie Mae
    Gracie Mae
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    i kinda like it--no pressure to keep up appearances! between losing my looks & gaining weight, at least i'm not worried about being easy to kidnap! lol, it's a joke...

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    j23blondie avatar
    Blondie23
    Blondie23
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Just stop looking in the mirror... that's what I have done!

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    Cee Mor
    Cee Mor
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    ohhhh the neck!!! I can't even look at my neck in the mirror in the morning, who even is that!

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    Amberlie Mikelsen
    Amberlie Mikelsen
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    On this point, I consider myself quite lucky. There's a photo of me (with my first ex-husband and my older son) that was taken around the time I turned 20 (Munchkin was less than a year old). Other than a bit of weight in the jaw area and chronic under-eye luggage, I still look the same as I did then, and that was 24 years ago.

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    The Phantom Stranger
    The Phantom Stranger
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I am adopted, and I've always joked that the only way it bothers me is that I didn't inherit my father's hair genes. Sure enough, my hair started thinning when I hit 50. When my father passed away last year--after a long period of illness and failing health--he still had a fuller head of hair than I have in good health and 30 years younger.

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    Sandrapocalypse
    Sandrapocalypse
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Beauty is an attitude. Do I look like I did at 20? Heck no, I am beautiful because I exist, doors are opened for me, people are polite, I get a cat call now and then. I'm almost 50. I feel beautiful in my skin, my skin does not make me beautiful.

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    Isabella
    Isabella
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Ah, so 1. you are vain. and 2. it only bothers people who were considered conventionally attractive. For all of us in the shadows, or even stuck with "ugly" label this is not a problem at all. Finally everyone looks the same :D

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    Vivi Pettiss
    Vivi Pettiss
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Nah, it's more of a confusing thing. If you woke up and you were a lighter/darker skin color, you would be freaked out. Doesn't mean you're racist. It's just because it doesn't look like how you thought you looked.

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    #3

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Weight gain that I can’t lose no matter what I do.

    Zestyclose_Big_9090 , Andres Ayrton / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

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    antonyaston avatar
    Antony Aston
    Antony Aston
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Been on a strict diet for the last three months. In the first few weeks I lost 30lb - not an ounce since.

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    #4

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them A few things come to mind. Lack of stamina. Good grief. I have been active for all my life, but now, even the simple gym routine wears me out. It bothers me each day that physical tasks take longer, I often ache afterwards, and the thought of breaking down bit by bit scares the stuffing out of me.

    My never having been beautiful physically, you would think that not being noticed wouldn't bother me. It does. Getting the aid of a store clerk has become task. I find myself having to force myself on people. That's annoying.
    The forgetting of names, proper nouns when I know those are words are somewhere in my brain just aggravates the stew out of me. Where did those words go? Hours later I will be loading the dishwaher and, damn, the name or book title will pop in head as though the brain kept searching for it long after I forgot I needed the name earlier. What's up with that?

    Getting shorter. Freaking gravity. I was never tall and now I know that centimeter by centimeter I get closer to the ground. Argh.

    Arthritis. All the activity, wear and tear on my joints as a young adult has come to haunt me. I have spent the last seven years doing resistance weight training to strengthen the muscles around the achy joints. Thank goodness I did, but nothing has helped stop the stiffening of joints.

    Not being needed on some level. I spent so much time taking care of growing children, making professional decisions in my work life, coming up with solutions to make systems better and now I often feel hollow, useless. I want to know that I can help not just be a token.

    Another sad thing concerns my decreasing lack of patience. I can no longer suffer the insufferable and wanton ignorance around me. I must walk away. Civil discourse disappears when grown a*s adults believe and repeat lies and conspiracies. That's not a debate, it's chaos. There's no deference to the expertise in our world. Retired insurance salespeople are not experts on geopolitics or macroeconomics. They just aren't. Ugh. For goodness sake, just shut up.

    I must be cranky this morning. So I will shut up now.

    Photon_Femme , Andres Ayrton / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

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    izabelaizukulikowska avatar
    Isabella
    Isabella
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Arthrisis hit me with my thyroid going out of window at 33. Fun times, nobody believes you, "young people do not get so sick"

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    #5

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Having to let go of a dream or goal that will never be achieved. 😢.

    linda70455 , Gabriel Gurrola / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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    izabelaizukulikowska avatar
    Isabella
    Isabella
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    For many of us, this dream is not being homeless. We will never afford homes

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    #6

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Decrease in stamina; why is everything so tiring now?

    EXXPat , Eduardo Flores / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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    Skara Brae
    Skara Brae
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Someone I know is in his 80s and has greatly reduced stamina. When he's resting he can get up and move around for a while. However, soon he has to move slowly and rest often. It turns out his aortic valve is mostly calcified. This means it doesn't open as far as it should. This means he can't replenish the oxygen in his blood fast enough when he's moving around. A heart surgeon measured his valve (everyone is different) and it should open as far as 4 square centimeters. Currently it can only open as far as 0.9 centimeters, so they are planning surgery.

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    #7

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them I have noticed a change in my short-term memory over the past several months and it's concerning me.

    WTFuckery2020 , Lisa Fotios / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

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    #8

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Crepe skins and loss of muscle.

    Annual-Hovercraft158 , Pixabay / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

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    normadennis2004 avatar
    Norma
    Norma
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's weird to look down and you don't even recognize your own hands.

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    #9

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Vision. Letters are too small on so many things. Glasses on. Glasses off. Where are my glasses? Bifocals.

    someguy14629 , Jilbert Ebrahimi / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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    glennschroeder avatar
    Papa
    Papa
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I've been wearing bifocals for about 15 years. The only "Glasses on, glasses off" I do is when I'm at the computer. I have a second pair (that aren't bifocals) set for my vision at arms length so I'm not straining my neck looking at the monitors through my bifocals.

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    #10

    I’ve always had a cat (or two). After my previous boy passed, I went and adopted a bonded pair, because I’m getting *two* out of the shelter, right? But after a couple of years I came to realize that- if they stay healthy, they could easily outlive me and my husband (we are both 70). And then what happens? Everybody says, “Oh, provide for them in your will! Get a commitment from a friend or family member who can take them!”. What if you don’t have anyone who can take them?


    Maybe we’ll be lucky and outlive them. Maybe my daughter halfway across the country (who currently has a cranky cat and two very energetic dogs) will have an opening. Maybe a cat-loving neighbor will still be living nearby. Maybe. 🥺🥺🥺 I worry about it.

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    Jeremy James
    Jeremy James
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I used to volunteer at a sanctuary with over 700 cats. Many of them came from elderly folks in that exact situation.

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    #11

    Going on Reddit and reading all the hate for Boomers. Apparently we are one giant evil monolithic hive-mind because we were born between 1946-1964. That’s all it took, just being born at a specific time. We’re like the Borg.

    On the other hand, all the other generations consist of millions of individuals with different personalities and political viewpoints and different and individual hopes, dreams, hobbies, and interests.

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    Nils Skirnir
    Nils Skirnir
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Blame the marketers and politicians for that. Divide, conquer, and sell c**p to

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    #12

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Becoming invisible. No one tells you and then it’s too late.

    Izdabye , Kaique Rocha / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

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    #13

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them I used to have so much discipline. I could keep my weight down, exercise 7 times a week, keep my home organized, etc. Now I just want to eat gummies, Doritos and hang out here.

    Glittering_Sky8421 , Gabin Vallet / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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    Bluonthefront
    Bluonthefront
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm ok with letting go of some things. Idc if my home and yard look photo ready. They look good enough. I spend my time on the things I enjoy more.

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    #14

    Menopause... and all the s**t no one warned me about. Like losing your sex drive. ( which I've fortunately gotten back, somewhat).... or aging 10 yrs in 6 months. Waking up one morning to find I have NO eyebrows.... you know, s**t like that!

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    pipboo@live.co.uk
    pipboo@live.co.uk
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Me too! I see the age of 50 and the menopause as a huge watershed in my life. HRT has successfully removed all of the unpleasant medical symptoms, such as sweats, anxiety and insomnia, which allows me to keep working, so I'm very grateful. On the other hand I've metamorphised from an attractive and sexually active wonam in my 40's into a wrinkly, silver haired asexual old grannie in my 50's. And all that happened within a year, just bizarre!

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    #15

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Realizing that the end is no longer over the horizon; it is the horizon.

    S_L_Raymond , Mike Bird / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

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    beab_ avatar
    Bat cat in a hat
    Bat cat in a hat
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm ok with that, better die sooner than suffer for years with some horrible degenerative illness

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    #16

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them That events/cultural references that you remember vividly are a lot older than you think, and in many cases, younger folks will have no idea what you are talking about.

    Mooseagery , Josh Sorenson / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

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    keyboardtek
    keyboardtek
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I saw the progressive rock group Emerson, Lake & Palmer when I was 17. One of the best concerts in my life. Young people today would not even have the attention span to listen to all the musical ideas in one ELP suite like Tarkus.

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    #17

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them I’ve been a personal trainer, marathoner, martial arts instructor, yoga teacher, …… since I was about 22. I’m 57. In my youthful, delusional mind, I truly thought I would be 80 before I started slowing down. Aging is humbling. We can exercise, eat right, and avoid most of the bad stuff. But, accidents happen. Genetics happen. Illness happens. I’m still very grateful that I have stayed fit and healthy through the years. But I was so sure I would be a marathon running grandma. Aging has checked my ego in a big way.

    YogaBeth , Bruno Bueno / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

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    Auntriarch
    Auntriarch
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I guess you would have been worse off if you hadn't started out fit. And at least you don't have my sister in law who is a marathon running grandma and she only started running just before COVID

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    #18

    Not knowing who some “famous” people are. I look at the cover of People magazine when checking out at the supermarket and half the time don’t know who the people they are crowing about are, lol.

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    Jeremy James
    Jeremy James
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    3 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I swear they keep making up new famous people and just expect us to play along.

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    #19

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them When you are younger it feels like you have all the time in the world to do things. I am now coming to terms with the fact that “someday” is a lot smaller of a window.

    Alternative_Sock_608 , Ari Alqadri / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

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    JM
    JM
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And it feels true (to me) that time goes by faster. Even for small things - I was recently taking the sheets off my bed for laundry and thought to myself, "I just did this!" (a week ago)

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    #20

    Damned QR Codes for literally everything.

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    keyboardtek
    keyboardtek
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Small print on all the grocery store items. Packages now have ten different fonts and sizes of fonts, and trying to focus on reading them when eyesight is getting worse everyday becomes very frustrating. Reading a magazine! Once the word processor was invented, idiots decided that every page has to use every font available in twenty different sizes with five extra boxes on every page in fourteen different colors. It lacks any level of symmetry, or visual sense of harmony.

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    #21

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Being patronized by doctors.

    HawkReasonable7169 , Karolina Kaboompics / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

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    WindySwede
    WindySwede
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "Just take a Tylenol" 👩‍⚕️👨‍⚕️

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    #22

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them The people I love won’t be around forever.

    Daisy_W , cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

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    JoNo
    JoNo
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Increasing awareness that I won't be around forever.

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    #23

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Singing well. I can’t hit high notes anymore and sometimes my voice is shaky and off key. I don’t sing in public, just in the car or at home, but it saddens me that no one will ever say “Wow! I didn’t know you could sing like that” ever again. 😒.

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    Steve Hall
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    3 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My singing has always been an easy way to upset cats.

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    #24

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Can’t wear high heels.

    Pure-Guard-3633 , Apostolos Vamvouras / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

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    Auntriarch
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Sigh, yes I have a fabulous pair of stilettos in the cupboard which I'm pretty certain I'll never wear again, I used to go shopping in them.... But I have gold birkies, so that's very consoling

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    #25

    Dealing with heat & humidity; untrustworthy knees.

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    #26

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Loss of ambition and drive. Part of me kind of likes it because deep down I'm just a bum but overall it's been tough to accept. Hard to describe but you reach a point of just feeling finished with it all and energy doesn't come easy anymore.

    Unless I'm super stoked about something, I basically don't care about it and can't even force myself to pretend to care.

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    Irish Lassie
    Irish Lassie
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You’ve just described what millions of women go thru after menopause. You’ve also just described me to a T! It takes so much just to PRETEND to be interested, never mind being ACTUALLY interested. I choose naps over almost any other “activity”. The saddest part is that I used to be a gymnast and barrel racer (horses) and now I can barely muster the energy or strength to get out of bed. I believe it’s called depression. I envy those women who, at 60+, seem to be unfazed at all by age, injury or mental health issues. Thanks for passing that trait on to me, Mom! She’s 85 and has been depressed since I can remember. Go easy on us, children. You’ll soon be right where we are someday. 👵🏻👶🏻

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    #27

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Not only hair growing out of new places that never had hair before but growing an inch over night.

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    #28

    Realizing me and hubby can't just lift heavy objects like we did 20 years ago when we moved in. We're buying and putting together new furniture and deep calculations go into how we're going to get it up the stairs or room to room. Literally stuck with a very, very old bedroom set (hubby's grandma) we no longer can get downstairs to get rid of it. Will have to hire movers so we can get a new set.

    Yeah, we're old asf. Hubby just turned 70 yesterday.

    Insult to injury: I take him to a winery for his birthday/ We're sitting outside on a beautiful day sipping white wine and eating some cracker, hummus, and stuffed olives, and chatting (we use sign language) before going to dinner. A women is walking around and back and forth (I swear I caught her filming us while a video call she was on). At one point she passed by again and says, "You two are so cute. Sitting there just enjoying yourselves in the sun." I say thank you, but...

    I'm thinking, so we've become that cute little old couple now??? WTF?! 😳.

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    #29

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them The hardest thing to understand as it's happening is that your circle of friends gradually grows smaller and smaller. They're still your friends and when you see them it's like old times. But the times you see them gradually decrease to almost never. And these people who were/are the most important people in your life for such a pivotal time in your life slowly begin to have other normal priorities - partners, families, work commitments, general adulting.

    You grow up watching TV shows, seeing people in their 20s and 30s hanging out all the time, seeing each other daily, and you expect that to be your life. And it sort of is for a short time in real life. But the people pair up (normal), no longer need roommates (normal), get jobs in another city (normal), buy a house (normal), get married (normal), have kids (normal) and so on and so on.

    This has been the hardest thing to accept.

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    keyboardtek
    keyboardtek
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    At 70 I have found making new friends is nearly impossible. As a male, if you start talking to other men you casually run into like at the pool or the gym and start small talk, they think you are gay and shut down conversation quickly. Plus so many oldsters have bad hearing and conversation is difficult.

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    #30

    My life getting smaller. I used to travel but that is pretty much gone because my husband hates to travel and I have health issues that makes it hard for me to go by myself. I used to be a Global IT Project Manager flew off around the world now the grocery store is an adventure. My kids are grown and gone. Just not much life anymore. I do enjoy our community that keeps me going.

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    #31

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Not being seen as someone I once was and still am - now I’m just seen as an old lady but still feel young, cool and beautiful.

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    Paula MV
    Paula MV
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I will be young, cool, and beautiful til the day I die!!

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    #32

    Looking in the mirror and seeing my grandmother looking back!

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    #33

    Not walking straight. I didn’t realize how bad it was until I saw myself on my home camera walking hunched over.

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    WindySwede
    WindySwede
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Like this comment if you straitened your back reading this!

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    #34

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Pain. Things start hurting and they never stop hurting. Every time another part of my body starts to hurt, for whatever reason, I wonder: is this now forever? The worst part is that I have many friends my age, who live similar lifestyles and engage is similar types of activities, who do not experience these pains. They just got better genes and I got sucky genes, and there's not a damn thing I can do about it.

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    Papa
    Papa
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm fortunate in that at 63 I am not in near constant pain like many people my age, which is surprising since I did manual labor until I was almost 50, but what's up with random places on my body itching all the time?

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    #35

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them The random unfairness of life. The careful, health-conscious person you thought would always be healthy and outlive you suddenly develops an old-person illness or physical problem in their late 50s or early 60s that changes their remaining life forever. Could be a stroke or some internal ailment that prevents them from doing things they easily did only a few years earlier. Could be something like cancer that causes them to deteriorate and die. Even something minor, like arthritis or blood pressure or heart issues that just slow them down, can be life changing and eliminate retirement plans to travel etc. Happens to too many folks and is especially sad when it happens to people who ate right, exercised, and watched their health carefully. The silver lining is that it reminds you in no uncertain terms that life is short and you best get busy making it meaningful while YOU can still do it.

    Phineas67 , Polina Tankilevitch / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

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    Papa
    Papa
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The physical stuff is scary enough, but knowing people my age who are suffering from cognitive decline is even worse.

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    #36

    How debilitating arthritis can be. I see people my age playing tennis, etc when I can barely walk from one room to the next.

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    #37

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Empty Nesting:
    I know my kids have grown and have their own lives now but miss so much them living with me as a family unit on a daily basis. Also all my old friends are dying one by one.

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    Paula MV
    Paula MV
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I miss my kids so much. I am so proud of them, living independent adult lives, but damn I miss having them in my day-to-day life.

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    #38

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Getting frustrated with everyday technology. Some days I just want to throw my hands up in the air because nothing works right.

    Some things seem so overly complicated or just don't make sense and it infuriates me.

    And yeah, I'm in IT which doesn't help and also makes me feel like I'm just old and outdated; a forgotten repository of useless data.

    DingGratz , Firmbee.com / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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    keyboardtek
    keyboardtek
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I have a friend who was a software coder for IBM for years. He retired at 55 because he saw all the older programmers slowly get replaced by the young people with sharp minds who knew the latest programming code. It is a career that requires a sharp young mind.

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    #39

    Getting injured more often and recovering far slower and sometimes not recovering fully at all.

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    Bilja M
    Bilja M
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Injured my back while scrubbing the floor. But once I threw out my kneecap just by getting up!

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    #40

    As a woman in my 50’s I decided to go quit coloring my hair. I feel invisible now. Like I have aged out.

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    Bilja M
    Bilja M
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I color my hair but my face got really rough with aging and people behave like I don't even exist. It's not the hair color. It's the cult of youth.

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    #41

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Muscle strength. Getting off the floor for me is hilarious, especially since I have a kissy little Chiweenie who thinks mommy's down here to see him. He's scuttled in as I write, mwah! Kisses!

    cherrycokelemon , Victor Freitas / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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    ƒιѕн
    ƒιѕн
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I was out bucking logs and splitting firewood yesterday, realized some of those rounds I used to easily lift up on the splitter are getting way heavier than I remember.

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    #42

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Loss of mobility due to disease. Retirement sucks if you can't get around.

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    keyboardtek
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Many of the common debilitating diseases are avoidable if one makes lifestyle changes. Stop smoking, get daily exercise, maintain a healthy weight, eat more vegetables and less meat and sugar. The daily exercise is crucial. All the healthy food in the world is not going to do much good if one lacks exercise. With so much nutrition and health information now available through the internet, there is no excuse for not knowing how to take good care of one's health.

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    #43

    People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them I am at a place where I know how to dress well, have developed confidence and have been around long enough to be more interesting than when I was younger. I get positive feedback from strangers all the time and am approached by women in a way that is new to me. However I am only a year and a half away from retirement but feel long past being interested in “romance”. If I was like I am today but 20 years younger my life would feel very different.
    Pleasant conversation is all I have left to offer an attractive woman now.

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    leendadll
    leendadll
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Pleasant convo and companionship are all that a lot of us want. The post-menopause loss of sex drive is very real (and SUCKS).

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    #44

    The people I loved weren't who I thought they were.

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    #45

    The way I can hurt myself doing regular stuff or nothing at all.

    Needing to wear glasses. I had amazing vision until I didn't and remembering where I left the damn things is aggravating af. And they are expensive and my health insurance apparently doesn't cover eyes.

    My intolerance to heat. I used to love heat. I loved the sun. I loved being out swimming or playing and summer was my favorite season. Now if it's over 75 I am not interested. Fall and winter are my seasons now.

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    Jeremy James
    Jeremy James
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I swear the sun gets brighter every year. It's not like the sunlight we used to have back in the day.

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    #46

    That time goes by so fast at a time when you need it to go slower, like when you were younger!

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    Nils Skirnir
    Nils Skirnir
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Takes me forever to get out of the house anymore. I used to get up and out by 5 am. Now lucky to get out by 9:30

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    #47

    Loss of dexterity on every day activities. Can’t just grab two eggs with one hand unless i don’t mind one or both smashed on the floor.

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    Auntriarch
    Auntriarch
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    3 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Takes forever to thread a needle, partly the eyes, partly the wobbly fingers. Even with a threader

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    #48

    Strangers start getting mean. Used to be I got hit on by people every day (I'm a man) which I enjoyed. Now I seem to get yelled at every day, which I don't enjoy.

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    Bilja M
    Bilja M
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Sadly yes! I still try to look nice, for myself, and get compliments from men over the age of 70 (I am 51). the rest of people pretty much behave like I don't exist. On the vacation I tried to ask multiple passengers from the flight for some information and they just looked through me and left without a word, I had to check if I got some skin disease or something on my face.

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    #49

    Being the oldest guy at the bar is weird. I try and avoid it now and go to age appropriate places.

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    Bilja M
    Bilja M
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    3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Been alone to Magaluf this Summer, felt like the absolute oldest tourist in there. I wasn't really but most people were half my age. I felt like the only one with back pain, wrinkles and cellulite in the whole Mallorca!

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    #50

    Feeling more isolated. I got married very late (45), and prior to meeting my wife, I spent almost all of my time alone because all of my friends had partners or families. It’s totally normal for people to prioritize their partners and families, it just sucks when you’re the one left behind because you don’t have anyone. I’m sure there were other single people out there in my city, but for whatever reason, I wasn’t meeting them. It was a pretty miserable time.

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    #51

    I'm finding that it's much harder to stay focused on work that is difficult or uninteresting just because I *want* to -- a commitment I've invariably found to be rewarding in the end.

    Pascal pointed out that the greatest cause of man's unhappiness is his inability to sit quietly in his room. I found that some type of not-uncommon hormonal change between 40 and 50 made it possible to do just that, for however long it took to get something done. And gave me many happy years.

    But now at 70 I find that my mind wants to wander. It's not the FOMO of my youth, but the end result is the same: less time on task, and less accomplished at the end of each day. And, I fear, gradual loss of the ability to look back after five or 10 years and know what I've amounted to; where the time went.

    I can easily accept that I now walk two miles where I used to run 20. I can put in the same effort, and have the same feeling at the end. And it's not about mental functioning. I may forget some words or details, but I also see that I have insight gained over the decades that lets me do other things faster and more correctly.

    But it's the sense of being a boy of 39 again, and not fully in charge of the way I'm going to spend my day that's awfully hard to accept. LOL -- I thought I was past all that!

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    Paul Brown
    Paul Brown
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    3 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    When I was 40, I was in the best shape of my life. When to the gym 5 days a week, 2 hours a day. Bench press 300lbs, squat 400lbs, could play 2,3, games straight of pick up basketball. We'll, I'm 68 now, everything hurts, summer is brutal now, can't take the heat. Get out of breath taking the garbage cans to the curb. Getting old sucks, and knowing it's not going to get any better is depressing.

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