I'm only in my mid-30s, but have been obsessed the past few days with not being "young" anymore.

[Bleacher Creature]

Anyone else have a similar experience? I'm not sure why and when this started, but can't shake the feeling that my life is flying by. Is this a mid-life crisis?

Seiously -- I'm a huge football fan and had yesterday ruined by an obsessive need to google each team to see how many players are older than me (it's not many). This is weird, and hugely annoying.

[seabeyond]

1. lol, i at least waited until 45. i hear a lot of people hitting your age

especially men, feel this way.

hopefully

you will come to a place that you embrace and then i am telling ya.... life is good. so many things is irrelevent and easy going is where it is at.

30's is a good time. so is 40's really. havent hit 50's so cant say, but i plan enjoying.

[HopeHoops]

2. Hell, I'm 47 and I crossed the "I don't give a shit" line a long time ago.

Chill out and don't worry - sex gets better with age and length of relationship (been with my lady since Dec '84).

Okay, okay. Sex isn't the ONLY thing that matters. There's also, um, give me a minute. I'll think of it. Damn.

I'll get back to you on that one if I think of it.

[seabeyond]

6. firstly.... i am chilled, it is the op that isnt, lol

and secondly.... i think you are a faker. i have read enough of your "normal" posts in the past, and if you are acknowledging sex gets better, i gotta assume, you have it going on and pretty appreciative of your woman.... since '84.

not being a people person, even i can think of a lot of advantages to mate, growing old, knowing well, and being friends.

not to mention still getting sex, consistently, and well.

[HopeHoops]

9. Um, no. Perhaps I don't mention that very often, but it isn't a fake. It really does get better.

Admittedly, while "consistency" is there, "frequency" has taken a reduction, but quality easily makes up for that. I've had this discussion with many people in long-term relationships, male and female, and the common thread seems to be familiarity with one's partner.

And what isn't "normal" about my post?

As for the fear of getting older thing, I dealt with that around age 39 or so. It was pretty silly and pretty short lived. I think what helped bring me out of it was one night while my wife and I were out shooting pool and I overheard a young guy, 23 or so, say to his friend that he was going to kick the old man's ass at pool. His quarters were next up on the table. I felt it was my duty (and the beer agreed) to give him a pool-based "Oh no you won't" and proceeded to knock his dick in the dirt on the table. I figured if I was already an "old man", I really didn't have anything to worry about in the future other than not knowing any of the music on the juke box.

I've been turning gray for a long time, including my beard and mustache, and my hands definitely show it. I just don't give a shit anymore. My wife hasn't really aged much despite having three kids (15, 17 and 19 now). A good deal of that may be from her karate - she goes 4 nights a week, teaches a good part of the time, and is a 3rd degree black belt. She also runs the demonstration team almost every Saturday morning during the school year. And that's on TOP of teaching kindergarten all day, during which she rarely gets to sit down. Still, her face hasn't really aged either. She doesn't seem to mind my appearance changes.

OOOH!!! - GOOD NEWS on that front! I went to the doctor this morning to review my medications and not only was my blood pressure in a really comfortable range (including the tracking I do at home with my own machine), but my weight was FINALLY back to my comfortable "normal" of 134! I'd been up around 170 four years ago when I was on the road most of the day and living on grilled cheese sandwiches and beer. Damn it took a while to bring it back down, but that was part of the blood pressure issue (160/110 is flirting with disaster).

[seabeyond]

12. yea....

to your good news. and i think so much of your post makes the difference of how we walk to old age.

fit, happy, content, healthy makes getting old doable.

as i said, it seems men go thru this earlier than women. i was 45 before i went thru my little, "oh no, i am getting old" thing. and with me, it didnt last long either.

[HopeHoops]

13. You either deal with it or say "fuck it", sell your home, and check into a nursing home at 49.

:hi:

I like the "have fun" approach to life. By the way, my wife's 47th birthday was Saturday and the main thing she got for presents was Lego. They brought back the castle theme sets!!! The horses have head armor with gold unicorn spikes. There are a lot of fun pieces in them.

The one she REALLY wants them to bring back is the forestry men (Robbin Hood-ish stuff) they stopped making about 20 years ago.

She's still a little kid inside, but hey, that's what she works with all day and then she gets home and has to deal with me (not much of a difference).

[ceile]

3. About every other day.

I'll be 35 next month and I feel like I'm 50. Not physically, and not in looks either...it's hard to describe. I see my man looking at someone who's 25 and I think "I used to look like that"- and then I feel old and invisible.

[seabeyond]

7. ah.... (on edit)

that is so sad.

he is probably looking at the 20yr old and feeling like the Op.

[Tom_Foolery]

4. You'll get over it...

I'm almost 50, and I couldn't care less about getting old. Besides, there's nothing you can do about it except take care of yourself to make sure you age gracefully.

[MiddleFingerMom]

5. Hush, child. n/t

[zipplewrath]

8. Don't ignore that feeling

I mean, dump the whole "getting old" schtick. But I know too many 30 year olds that don't realize they're not 20 any more. Mostly professionally, but even in their personal lives. Your life is "flying by" and you want to make sure that you are actively making progress in all aspects of your life. Are you saving money? Are you advancing professionally? How is your physical health? Are you getting heavier? Getting enough exercise? How about friendships? Do you still make "new" friends? Any "old" ones slipped away and you don't know why?

I had a brother die a few years back. I got stuck emptying out his apartment. The amount of crap he had, that had obviously been lying around, undone, for years was startling. I had to go through his employment and banking crap. He had obvious recurring "issues" that had gone un-rectified for a decade or more.

Don't do that. Do it how ever you have to, but "take stock" on a regular basis. New Years, birthday, anti-birthday (6 months offset from your birthday", what ever it takes but sit down and look at your life from 1 year ago, and then think about your life 1 year from now. Better yet, write it down and force yourself to read what you wrote a year ago. Save them and read back 5 years, 10 years.

Oh, and write a friggin' Will. Nothing big, mostly instructions on how you want to be buried, what things you'd like given to whom, and where all important information is so that your estate can be settled. And while you're at it, write a "living will". Basically your thoughts on how you want to be treated if you are in a coma. It will really help those that get stuck having to do it.

[jobycom]

18. Good God, man. That's like, perfect.

:applause:

[woo me with science]

39. +1000 nt

[frogmarch]

10. I freaked when I turned 30

but when I hit 40 I was living outside myself (focused on saving animals) so much, that it was a non-issue.

Now I'm 66 and my age is still a non-issue to me, although it does freak me out that my dentist and medical doctor are both younger than my youngest child. (Deep down, whenever I have an appointment with one of them, a voice inside me says, Unhand me, you young whippersnapper!)

[Xithras]

11. It's pretty normal

When we're in our teens and twenties, we know that we'lll get old and die someday, but it's a far off concept that seems somehow unconnected to our daily lives.

Most people, at some point between their mid 20's and 30's, wake up one day and realize "damn, I'm getting older!" This is usually connected to the sudden discovery that the current crop of "young adults" now sees you as "old" and not a part of their generation. You realize, for the first time in your life, that you're now disconnected from the "youth culture".

It can be a shock to some people, but it happens to everyone.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

14. meh.....

welcome to the club. I hope you make it to my age, when you can say, "I remember when his father played ball" :)
:bounce: I've just celebrated the 21st anniversary of being 39 :party:

[TheMightyFavog]

15. I'm only 30, and I've been thinking the exact same thing.

It doesn't help that psychologically, I've always been a few years behind my peers, and that I was kind of a late bloomer. Most of my college frinds are 3-6 years younger than me.

[guitar man]

16. Wait until you're pushing 50 kid

I just wish I was in my mid 30s again...it's a great time, stop fretting and enjoy it while you got it :hi:

[Skittles]

28. I'm 53 and have never thought like that

I'll schedule you and the OP for duo-asskickings ASAP

[carlyhippy]

17. It'll pass, then come back again in the mid-40's,

Seeing I am older than you, my advice is to push it aside and worry about that later.....you are young.....go enjoy yourself, youngin!

[applegrove]

19. Mid thirties is still young.

[Recovered Repug]

20. I know what you mean. I'm not sure when I stopped paying

attention to a lot of pop culture stuff. I had know idea until recently that there was a "Snookie". Snookie? Really? Back in my teens, we made a big deal over Wookies so maybe not that much has changed after all.

That's why I still root for Bret Favre. Even though I'm older, he's already a grandfather. Knowing a gramps can still play in the NFL makes me feel better. As long as he doesn't beat my Packers again this year.

[Jamastiene]

21. I know time isn't really "long" or "short," but...

It seems to me that my first 20 years of life took forever and my last 20 years of life have flown by.

Forty is when my middle age crisis thoughts started. It lasted about a minute and a half before I finally realized it was time to cook dinner. That was a month ago. I haven't had time to look back and remember what I was thinking exactly.

I cannot speak for anyone else, but the time it takes to live everyday life makes me feel like life is living me, not the other way around. I've decided to work on creating some "me" time each day to slow things down and enjoy life a little bit. I'd rather live my life than be lived by it, if that makes any sense.

Maybe, that's a good idea. I don't know. If it is not, at least maybe I'll get to enjoy part of my life instead of letting the daily routines of life wear me down and make me wonder where all the years went.

Today, I played with my cats for around an hour. I enjoyed it. They did too. Nothing lost there, but it still feels like time is now flying by compared to when I was under 20 years old. I can't wait until I am done with tomorrows daily chores and can spend some more real quality time with them. Watch tomorrow's chores go by painfully slow and seem to take forever. It works that way for some reason.

[UTUSN]

22. I hate your youth. No I don't. Yes I do. n/t

[cbdo2007]

23. Just turned 33 and had first kid - the days are flying by FAST

and i am definitely old.

Saw on the Yahoo yesterday that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was released 19 years ago. THAT pretty much shocked me.

[Lindsey]

24. Man...just wait until you turn 50. That really freaked me out!

My 30's was my favorite decade. you'll be fine. :hi:

[cbdo2007]

25. Definitely 30's are my favorite so far, new kid, new house...

things are great!!! Hoping it all continues to get better, I just don't understand how I got this old this fast.

It really started flying after college. Like even 9/11 seems like it was yesterday. I can't believe it was 9 years ago. Like it's really 2010, can you believe that?!?!?

I can't. Geez, when I turn 50 my kid will only be 17...I can't imagine :)

[av8rdave]

26. Me too...though now it doesn't bother me

[av8rdave]

27. Oh please...

Let me help you out here.

We all go through this several times in our lives. For me, the first time was at about age 24, when I realized that all the Playmates were younger than me.

It sorta hits again, when we realize that most professional athletes are younger than us (usually our early 30s).

Sometime in your early 40s, it hits you that the CEO/CFO/CIO/whatever of the large, multinational company you work for is younger than you.

Then, Vinnie Testaverde retired. 'Nuff said in my case. Not to mention that nearly half of the NFL coaches are younger than me as well.

Then someone in your household (I won't name names, but it's not me yet) starts getting AARP mailings.

Then, your friends and coworkers start having grandkids.

Then, the President of the United States - the *&%$ing PRESIDENT - is younger than me.

The whole thing came full circle for me recently, when I was visiting my 24 year old son at grad school and he complained that all the Playmates are younger than he is.

Then suddenly, it hit me: I'm getting gray, ALL professional athletes, Playmates and Presidents are younger than me, my kids are adults, and in spite of all that...

The people that love me still love me, I'm happy for my kids, I'm passionate about what I believe, I'm in good health, and most nights I go to sleep thinking about what a good day I had. Somehow, how old I am just doesn't really matter.

[Skittles]

29. SCHEDULING AV8RDAVE & SON FOR ASS KICKINGS

FOR MEASURING TIME VIA PLAYMATES

[av8rdave]

37. Just one of several timelines

I actually hadn't given the playmate thing any thought whatsoever (do they still publish Playboy?) until my son made that comment.

[Skittles]

44. I send soldiers & Marines in Afghanistan Maxim and FHM

they're more current I suppose :D

[Skittles]

30. 53, never worried about it

when I was a child my grandmother told me it was wrong to complain about age because SO MANY PEOPLE ARE DENIED THE PRIVILEGE OF AGING - that has always stayed with me

[hayu_lol]

31. LOL at all the 'kids' remarks here...

from the vantage point of 75 of course.

What you may not have found out is that your mind never ages...you are really a perpetual kid there. Ummmm, never look in mirrors.

[Skittles]

32. LOL, maybe when I get my first gray hair I will feel older

:rofl:

[old mark]

33. I turned 63 back in August - I'm still amazed that I made it this long!

The one thing that is worse than getting older is....not.

(I think being dead will be a real drag, you know?)


mark

[zipplewrath]

40. Mickey Mantel

If I had known I was going to live this long, I'da taken better care of myself.

[Iggo]

34. Probably just a false start.

But it's going to happen. Survival means aging.

One day you're going to have to accept that you're not young anymore.

It's actually quite liberating. So really, try not to obsess.

[grace0418]

35. Speaking of football, I love that they keep showing graphics of Brett Favre with a long

flowing white beard like he's a thousand years old (and talking about how old he is too). He's the same exact age as I am.

Grrrrrr...

[Blue_Tires]

36. i felt that once i turned 30

even posted here about it....


now I'm 34, and it's long since out of my system...

[Taverner]

38. Mid- Thirties, that's when it happened to me

Body hurt more, longer than usual to wake up

We're dyin, bro

[RandomThoughts]

41. Not sure, my years from around 34 to current age were taken

by criminal actions against me, I really have not lived those years.

Although I will find a way to get them back. Or everyone else has to lose them also, only makes logical sense. Justice and all.

[a kennedy]

42. Just turned 60 on Sunday.....and I'm feeling sick about being old

:cry: :cry: :cry: my knees are in need of replacements, my left foot is hurting.....back, hurts when bending over for more then 5 minutes..... oh yeah, I hear ya Bleacher..... D*mn.

[kwassa]

43. yeah, you only have 60 years or so more to live! It's all over now.

No hope for you!

and what is so great about being young? there is no point in thinking about anything you can't change, anyways.

I'm 58, and am now in better physical shape than many 30 year olds,now that I've started running and working out again. You are only as old as you let yourself be.

[Xipe Totec]

45. Ecclesiastes 12

1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:

3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,

4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;

5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.

7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.