Three simple words . . . I'm too old!

[impressive]

I wonder how many people really have that dichotomy. I hear so many say that they feel younger, but I don't in any way, shape, or form (although to be fair, it could be the extra 60lbs I'm carrying now). I was kind of hoping to get people's take on it in a humorous way, because it is interesting how different people's experiences are as they age. My 20's were very wild with the long hair and all the shows, so now I feel like I'm slowing down as I play less and do sound more (and have less girls ask me to sign their breasts ). I think in my case, the aches and pains contribute greatly to my feeling my mortality. Nothing is going to make the knees or back better, and it's hard to play the whole, "I feel young" card when I'm limping.

In the TMI category:

My 20s were marked by a gradual weight gain that resulted from taking a desk job right out of college & being more sedentary than ever before. Added to that was a growing malaise because I married for the wrong reason (to "settle myself down") to the wrong person (a safe, reliable ... boring ... man). It piled on slowly until, at 29, I was carrying almost 40 extra pounds. I whipped myself into shape & shed that weight in preparation for a trip to Jamaica ... then returned home and promptly got pregnant (intentionally).

The hormonal changes that came with that pregnancy (and the three that followed it) really fucked up my insulin metabolism -- and my 30s were a wicked cycle of depression, weight gain, and debilitating physical pain from the cysts building up on my ovaries. (Hindsight, of course, being 20/20, I see all this clearly now.) Chronic physical pain -- like the type of back pain I was experiencing throughout my menstrual cycle -- does nasty things to my depression, and it culminated in lying in a pool of my own puke in a hotel room after swallowing a bottle of my son's muscle relaxants that I'd been saving a few pills at a time over several months. I was SO pissed when I woke up because I knew I didn't have the energy to stockpile enough pills to do it again.

I was lucky, really, at 38 to get a solid diagnosis and a means of pulling myself out of that cycle. Lost almost 100# low carbing, whipped my metabolism back into line, and got fit. The last piece to my recovery was a complete hysterectomy in late summer of 2005. I've literally never felt better. Maybe it's because the memories of pain are so fresh -- or maybe it's because I'm healthier than I've ever been since adolescence -- or both.

So, yeah, I've never felt younger.

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

In the TMI category:

My 20s were marked by a gradual weight gain that resulted from taking a desk job right out of college & being more sedentary than ever before. Added to that was a growing malaise because I married for the wrong reason (to "settle myself down") to the wrong person (a safe, reliable ... boring ... man). It piled on slowly until, at 29, I was carrying almost 40 extra pounds. I whipped myself into shape & shed that weight in preparation for a trip to Jamaica ... then returned home and promptly got pregnant (intentionally).

The hormonal changes that came with that pregnancy (and the three that followed it) really fucked up my insulin metabolism -- and my 30s were a wicked cycle of depression, weight gain, and debilitating physical pain from the cysts building up on my ovaries. (Hindsight, of course, being 20/20, I see all this clearly now.) Chronic physical pain -- like the type of back pain I was experiencing throughout my menstrual cycle -- does nasty things to my depression, and it culminated in lying in a pool of my own puke in a hotel room after swallowing a bottle of my son's muscle relaxants that I'd been saving a few pills at a time over several months. I was SO pissed when I woke up because I knew I didn't have the energy to stockpile enough pills to do it again.

I was lucky, really, at 38 to get a solid diagnosis and a means of pulling myself out of that cycle. Lost almost 100# low carbing, whipped my metabolism back into line, and got fit. The last piece to my recovery was a complete hysterectomy in late summer of 2005. I've literally never felt better. Maybe it's because the memories of pain are so fresh -- or maybe it's because I'm healthier than I've ever been since adolescence -- or both.

So, yeah, I've never felt younger.

Holy cow, Imp - those red hot avs and healthy mental outlook you exhibit these days truly are something to be proud of.

I knew about one of the great challenges in your life, but - you've come a long way, baby. (And I appreciate that that healthy mental outlook does not come without ongoing energy and struggle.)

 

[slyc_willie]

I'm 35, very close to turning 36. Granted, I was in the best shape of my life after getting out of basic way back in 1991. But I have to say, all things concerned, comparing health to mind, experience to the ability to act on that experience . . . .

I really am in the prime of my life. I wouldn't trade who and what I am now, how I look and feel and act now, for anything. I have become the Adonis that I always hoped I would be . . . at least as far as a few pairs of eyes are concerned.

Des, really . . . there are moments in which you will 'feel your age.' I don't have kids, so I can't sympathise with you there. But I work with people a good ten and even fifteen years younger than I. I can feel you there, buddy.

But ain't it cool, sometimes, to be older, wiser, and more experienced?

Okay, check the 'wiser' part.

It's still cool, 'cause we know how to bullshit well . . . .

 

[S-Des]

I'm 35, very close to turning 36. Granted, I was in the best shape of my life after getting out of basic way back in 1991. But I have to say, all things concerned, comparing health to mind, experience to the ability to act on that experience . . . .

I really am in the prime of my life. I wouldn't trade who and what I am now, how I look and feel and act now, for anything. I have become the Adonis that I always hoped I would be . . . at least as far as a few pairs of eyes are concerned.

Des, really . . . there are moments in which you will 'feel your age.' I don't have kids, so I can't sympathise with you there. But I work with people a good ten and even fifteen years younger than I. I can feel you there, buddy.

But ain't it cool, sometimes, to be older, wiser, and more experienced?

Okay, check the 'wiser' part.

It's still cool, 'cause we know how to bullshit well . . . .

I totally agree, I'm very happy with where I am in life. I even like myself much better as a musician because I'm more well-rounded (although I can't play 10 notes a second any more ). I have to say I'm a bit bummed because my physical impairments (although they're nothing compared to the challenges some people face) do make me feel my age. It really bothers me when I'm just not up to taking her for a bike ride or to the park.

But I'm with you on the benefits of maturing. I just wish we had this knowledge (and skill) about 20 years ago.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

I've known what bad knees and back feel like since I was in my late 20s. And now just about to turn 32, I know even more what bad knees feel like. I'm just sitting here at my desk at work, and I feel like my knees are about to pop out of their sockets.

My stamina is in the drain too.

Not that I was ever a becon of physical fitness, mind you.

 

[McKenna]

In the TMI category:
<snip>
So, yeah, I've never felt younger.

Wow, Imp. Just ... wow.

 

[S-Des]

I've known what bad knees and back feel like since I was in my late 20s. And now just about to turn 32, I know even more what bad knees feel like. I'm just sitting here at my desk at work, and I feel like my knees are about to pop out of their sockets.

My stamina is in the drain too.

Not that I was ever a becon of physical fitness, mind you.

*snicker* I actually was. I placed at the national level in the decathlon my senior year of high school, played basketball in college (briefly), football & baseball in high school, and even wrestled. Then I had a decade of karate and playing on stage before my back deteriorated. I gained weight, started doing less, and began acting like an "old man". A very good chiropractor got it back to the point where I could move again, but it will always hurt (unless I want to roll the dice with spinal fusion surgery). The knees are a different story because they are probably fixable. I'll look into it at the beginning of next year.

Now if they just had surgery to relieve my procrastination.

 

[S-Des]

Wow, Imp. Just ... wow.

Agreed. And meeting her in person, I can only tell you that I couldn't even begin to guess what her actual age is. There were times I thought she was in her early 30s and times I thought she might be my age. She is a ball of fire and a dream to be around.

 

[impressive]

Agreed. And meeting her in person, I can only tell you that I couldn't even begin to guess what her actual age is. There were times I thought she was in her early 30s and times I thought she might be my age. She is a ball of fire and a dream to be around.

 

[Belegon]

I may feel my age, and I do sometimes... but I abso-fucking-lutely refuse to act it!

*Grin*

Des, I understand about knees, dude... ex-catcher, ya know. And I totally felt indestructible at 25.

SO... let's hear it for the forty-one year olds! We kick fucking tail!

(we just feel it in our toes the next morning...)

 

[S-Des]

SO... let's hear it for the forty-one year olds! We kick fucking tail!

(we just feel it in our toes the next morning...)

Amen brother . . . Amen. A catcher huh? That is pretty brutal. My knees have always been bad (the army told me thanks, but no thanks when I was coming out of high school), so just the thought of that hurts.

BTW, I believe we have a game just around the corner. You and LT are about to find out if the Bears are going to be for real this year or not. I'd talk smack, but I'm not 100% sure myself.