Do you feel your age (mentally, not physically)?

[melissel]

Right now, there are five young girls having a crazy dance party in my living while I sit in the kitchen and eat pizza and surf here. It's so surreal. I don't really feel like I'm even close to old enough to have daughters old enough for this kind of slumber party, yet there they are. DH and I often look at each other and ask how it's possible to be at this point in life when we're still in college :confused:

 

Does there ever come a point in life when your perception of your age catches up to your actual age? Or do you always feel like you're still a teenage/young adult whose body is betraying you? :tongue_smilie:

[amyable]

I'm 43 -- physically I feel much older, mentally I feel much younger. I remember being in my 20's and having a conversation with my parents about this (who must have been just about 50 at the time) and they said the same thing - they didn't feel their age mentally/emotionally (although I think they acted it, lol).

 

I keep waiting to "grow up".:lol:

[NorthwestMom]

I am 42. I feel the same physically and am frequently shocked by the older face that looks back at me in the mirror. I do feel my age - a nice, solid, mature, wiser person than I was even 10 years ago. I like being me.

[Janie Grace]

I definitely often feel like I'm still in college, or maybe just graduated. My oldest is about to turn 13. It's WEIRD.

[maddykate]

No, I keep wondering when i will feel like an adult. I am 37.

[melissel]

I keep waiting to "grow up".:lol:

 

Me too! And yes, it is very weird.

 

They were dancing around and singing along with "My First Kiss" (side note: I'm so glad my kids weren't the only ones who knew the words to that song :001_huh:), and suddenly I just felt so old and still so young all at once!

[kalanamak]

Yes. I felt mentally my age at about 40, and I've grown up with each to about 48. Now I feel leveled off, and am not sure how much more I could grow except in facts. My wisdom leveled off.

[elegantlion]

I'll be 45 next month, gosh that sounds old. I don't feel old mentally, I don't even feel grown up half the time. I turned down bifocals at the eye doctor a few weeks ago.

 

It has helped me appreciate older people more. My parents are in their 70s and very active, I know my mom doesn't feel her age mentally. I look in the mirror and I don't feel 45 until I get next to my son. So I try to remember that people older than me may not feel old either.

 

A few years ago I paid a compliment to a handsome older man at church. I said something about him being handsome and he blushed and smiled. I could tell he didn't feel as old as he looked. I'd never thought about it much until then.

[PeacefulChaos]

It depends. I feel young, but whether I feel mentally 29 or not depends on the day and the situation. :)

I DO think it's funny that to me, DH looks the same as he did when we got married 11 years ago. True, we don't look much different - but when I look at the pictures I'm like, oh, wait...yeah, we look different. In my head we're still the same. :)

[melissel]

I'll be 45 next month, gosh that sounds old. I don't feel old mentally, I don't even feel grown up half the time. I turned down bifocals at the eye doctor a few weeks ago.

 

It has helped me appreciate older people more. My parents are in their 70s and very active, I know my mom doesn't feel her age mentally. I look in the mirror and I don't feel 45 until I get next to my son. So I try to remember that people older than me may not feel old either.

 

A few years ago I paid a compliment to a handsome older man at church. I said something about him being handsome and he blushed and smiled. I could tell he didn't feel as old as he looked. I'd never thought about it much until then.

 

What a great perspective, Paula. Thanks for sharing that.

[melissel]

It depends. I feel young, but whether I feel mentally 29 or not depends on the day and the situation. :)

I DO think it's funny that to me, DH looks the same as he did when we got married 11 years ago. True, we don't look much different - but when I look at the pictures I'm like, oh, wait...yeah, we look different. In my head we're still the same. :)

 

:lol::lol::lol: DD pulled out DH's college ID yesterday and couldn't believe it was him. I've always thought DH was a gorgeous guy, even now, but when I saw that picture, my heart fluttered exactly the same way that it used to :lol: I had forgotten just how compelling he was! (I had a mega crush on him for a year before we finally started dating.) His female clients and colleagues flirt like crazy with him though, so I know he's still got it :glare:

[TGHEALTHYMOM]

No, I keep wondering when i will feel like an adult. I am 37.

 

:iagree: In some ways...it is good...some :tongue_smilie:

[mumto2]

Recently I attended a party in my home town. I saw many classmates that I hadn't seen for 30 years. Many had adult children and grandchildren. They acted really old. Thanks to home ed some of my best friends are in their 30's. We do young things! Frequently by accident -- I have ended up doing some really steep hikes up mountains. I am so glad my kids are still home. I don't t want to be that old now.

[MamaT]

I think I realized that I should feel "grown up" the first time I held my grandson 8 months ago. :001_smile: I am 48, but forget most of the time. I think my kids keep me feeling young.

 

My dh is 53, but I have to remind him all the time that he's not a teenager. We were in Costa Rica a couple of years ago, and we were zip-lining. I turned around once I reached one of the platforms to wait for him. He came in upside down!

[GingerPoppy]

I'm getting to 40, but I feel young, enjoy young things, and am still young in my head. The one thing that gives it away is that I'm all like: "Man, KIDS these days!!" when teenagers are doing their teenage stuff. :tongue_smilie:

[GoVanGogh]

I'm 44.

Physically, I don't feel old at all. I still enjoy mountain biking and other crazy things. (Though I can't stomach roller coasters anymore.)

Mentally, I feel older right now. We have just gone through a major health scare with one of my parents. It has been very sobering to see a parent so frail.

But I have a good friend that is just a few years younger than my parents and she is still so active and youthful. She is still so full of life and loves adventure, which I think is the key to never feeling your age. :D

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

No, I keep wondering when i will feel like an adult. I am 37.

 

Me too. I'm 45. If I keep shopping in the junior's department and playing video games, perhaps I never will. :D

[HollyDay]

I'll be 50 next month. I do feel older physically than I do mentally. Right now I've got a virus so that is not helping. But, I"ve had perimenopause from "somewhere hot and ugly" for 8 years now and I do think that has made me feel older (weaker perhaps) than I would like. But, mentally, I'm still young. I still listen to Ricky Martin, Bon Jovi, and The Who. I still love games, puzzles, and Bugs Bunny. I sometimes wonder when I'll feel like a "grown up"

[lynn]

Only whenI say something like 20, 30 or even 40 years ago I remember.....

and seeing my teens turning into young men. or that some of my friends gradutated high school in the 90's. Oh and approaching the time in my life that I may need ahem....bifocals....(yep there I said it, my next visit to the eye doctor will be bifocal time)

[sparrow]

I'm 42 and I don't feel it physically or mentally. I've had to make some serious decisions in the past year due to my parents' failing health. It feels odd to me that I'm old enough to make these decisions :tongue_smilie:.

 

Me too. I'm 45. If I keep shopping in the junior's department and playing video games' date=' perhaps I never will. :D[/quote']

 

My MIL is in her late sixties and loves video games. It's a bonding point for she and my dh :D. They swap games and strategy.

[ereks mom]

Or do you always feel like you're still a teenage/young adult whose body is betraying you?

 

This. Or at least, for me, it's that way. I'm 51yo, and I can't believe I'm that old! I feel that old physically lately, and I'm about 50 lbs. overweight, so that's not helping. :( And my oldest is about to graduate from college, so there's that too...

[Pamela H in Texas]

Mentally - I still always feel like I'm quite young, like early 20s. Good thing since I have another set of kids to raise :)

 

Physically - Well, since I'm doing better physically than in all my adult life? It's kinda weird. But I'm still probably older than average for my chronological age.

Edited April 18, 2012 by 2J5M9K

[Shawndrese]

I definitely cannot believe I'm already 31. Where does time go?! I feel like I was in high school a month ago! It's very surreal sometimes. Does anyone ever get weirded out when their kids call them mom? LOL. There are still occasions when I'm like, "Who, me? No way am I a mom already!" hahaha

[Mommy22alyns]

No, I'm still in denial that I'm no longer in my 20's. But the funny thing is, I used to always feel older than my age.

[Tap]

Until this past year, I felt young and looked at least 5+ years younger than my age.

 

The stress of the past few years has taken a huge toll on my body and mind. I am nothing like who I was 5 years ago.

 

Any more I feel like I have to walk a million miles to take one step forward....my miles are showing.

[Tarreymere]

I ordered a beer in a restaurant last week and as I did I wondered if I had my ID in my purse.......I'm 47 :lol::lol::lol:

[Lisbeth]

I am in my 40s. I have always been out of step peer-wise. I listened to 1940s music and AM radio as a kid. I was an only child reading novels at 5 meant for adults. Mentally I am much older than my true age. Physically I am sort of like Dan Quayle...perpetual baby face and people think I am younger, being thin with a boyish build. This out of sync condition causes a lot of problems.

[Night Elf]

After reading the responses, I feel like an oddball! I'm 44 yrs. old and I feel both physically and mentally in my 40s. I don't feel young anymore. I'm a middle aged woman with teenage children. I spend more time thinking 'when I was your age...' thoughts. I started feeling that way in my very late 30s. As I neared my 40th birthday, I knew my young adult years were getting behind me. I just don't think young anymore. It is what it is.

[PeacefulChaos]

I'll be 45 next month, gosh that sounds old. I don't feel old mentally, I don't even feel grown up half the time. I turned down bifocals at the eye doctor a few weeks ago.

 

It has helped me appreciate older people more. My parents are in their 70s and very active, I know my mom doesn't feel her age mentally. I look in the mirror and I don't feel 45 until I get next to my son. So I try to remember that people older than me may not feel old either.

 

A few years ago I paid a compliment to a handsome older man at church. I said something about him being handsome and he blushed and smiled. I could tell he didn't feel as old as he looked. I'd never thought about it much until then.

My grandparents are in their early 70s and are doing excellent, health wise - they always have said that having me helped keep them young. There may actually be some merit to that lol - when others their age had the last of their kids moving out, they ended up with me! :lol: :D So they even kept up to date on stuff, and stayed busy - there wasn't an activity I was in that they didn't attend faithfully. Now, they have their friends and they do all sorts of fun stuff with them, my grandpa's retired but can't just sit around so still has a part time job, and I still trust my grandma's taste and don't mind if she buys me clothes for christmas! :lol: I sometimes forget their age is the same as some of the people at the retirement home DH works at...they seem so much younger!

DD pulled out DH's college ID yesterday and couldn't believe it was him. I've always thought DH was a gorgeous guy, even now, but when I saw that picture, my heart fluttered exactly the same way that it used to :lol: I had forgotten just how compelling he was! (I had a mega crush on him for a year before we finally started dating.) His female clients and colleagues flirt like crazy with him though, so I know he's still got it

DH gets hit on at work, too. :rolleyes: Oh well.

It's funny, because I remember wondering if we would always see each other as the same as when we got married. DH's grandparents were married over 50 years (I think closer to 60...seems like they got married after his grandpa came back from WWII) and even when his grandma had alzheimer's (sp?) and couldn't even remember her kids (or grandkids lol - she took him into the other room when we were there and said, 'Now, we have to figure out where those two are going to sleep. We can't let them share a room if they aren't married. :lol: ), she never, ever forgot her husband. But she would think they were on a date, and she'd say, 'Sam, when are you going to take me home? My mama's going to be waiting on me, and she's going to be mad at you if we're late!' :lol: I thought it was so cute and I couldn't help but wonder, doesn't she notice he's 85?? :lol: I just thought it was so interesting that she knew who he was, no matter what, even if what she thought they were (young adults on a date) clearly didn't match what she saw (two little elderly people sitting in their living room)! Even at the end of her life, they had moved in with one of their children and she'd go out in the afternoons to wait for her husband to come home (he went and helped their son out with some random stuff many afternoons) - she knew he would come around 'that corner' soon. They were really a wonderful pair.

[KristinaBreece]

I'm 26. Physically I feel much older. But in my head, I still feel like I'm a late teen. My oldest is 5 and a half, and I still find that it feels surreal to me that I am a parent at all.

[LibraryLover]

Mentally and physically, I feel well and energetic. (Knock wood) I come from a long line of energetic women. My mother is very active; always busy with something. She also looks amazing. When we go out, she can't get the senoir discount without showing her ID. She is very slender, and I think that makes a big difference. I feel good, and haven't(yet) been asked for a Sr ID lol . However, I am not slender as she is. I dread the day they think I am her mother. Or sister. :001_huh: Honestly, I think I look about the age I am. :) I feel good. I always thank the fates/stars/heavens that I feel energetic. I still have a young child, and so far, nobody has suggested I might be her grandmother. OTOH, I am not sure that I would be surprised if they did ask that. ;) Mentally, I feel like a kid; I have several things simmering, and a couple of years ago, I started raising various animals (actual animals, not children. lol. Not to mention the things I've learned while hsing my children). :) I do have Lyme, which I need to keep under control, and I have a shoulder needing the occasional cortisone shot (very old injury the Drs said would someday rear it's ugly head). As long as I take care when I need to, I feel myself. I get a lot more sleep now than I did when i had nursing babies. That makes a big difference. I feel that I can manage better since I am not trying to get by on 3 hours of sleep. I see my age when I stand near my children. Their hands are so smooth and mine are starting to have those veins...their skin so smooth.

Edited April 18, 2012 by LibraryLover

[Tasia]

I feel a little younger than I am (44), but I certainly don't feel like a teenager anymore. :P

 

My sisters and most of my friends are in their late thirties, so I would say I feel about their age, both physically and mentally.

[KidsHappen]

I have always felt much older than my age both mentally and physically. I have been told that I look younger for my age but due to chronic pain and mental illness that's about the only thing going for me.

[swellmomma]

Mentally I feel younger. Physically is another story, my feet are so messed up I can hardly walk most days. Makes it pretty hard to act the way I mentally feel kwim.

[nono]

Does there ever come a point in life when your perception of your age catches up to your actual age? Or do you always feel like you're still a teenage/young adult whose body is betraying you? :tongue_smilie:

 

Yes, and it only started after having children in the house. Without kids, I happily lived in denial! :)

 

However, I live in an area where the folks who choose to live here all year round are generally older, but crazily strong and fit. For instance, my 86 year old neighbor rides her cruiser bike 14 miles/day, every day, then walks another 6 after lunch and "tidying up the house." And the old people still go out to bars to dance (it's why Happy Hours have bands around here ;)). I was talking to another 47 year old Mom about her weekend. She and her 9 year old daughter shoveled stones all weekend, and "feels pretty good." Long retired guys tearing off their front porches and rebuilding them in a week. Just some random examples that are so common here. I think living in a place where folks do a lot of physical things despite mostly being retirement age has redefined in my mind what 60-70-80 can/should be. And, the kids don't take on an ageist mentality either.

[Jenny in Florida]

I think I feel my age mentally / emotionally. I was so glad when I woke up one day and realized that so much of the drama and such that I coped with into chronological adulthood had levelled off when I wasn't paying attention. For so many years, I'd be standing in my kitchen cooking dinner and still feel like I was sort of playing house. Then, sometime in my 30s, I realized I had grown up at last.

 

For me, part of reaching that point has been accepting that I'm allowed to like what I like, and dislike what I dislike, without violating any rules. I finally came to the conclusion that being honestly "me" is the most mature thing I can do.

 

My daughter told me just the other day that I'm the most stable and sane person in our family.

 

Physically, I feel pretty good at the moment. I've been working on losing and keeping off a whole bunch of weight over the last three years, and it is kind of amazing what a difference this has made to the way I feel, physically. When I do those online "what's your real age" quizzes, I usually come out a little under my chronological age.

 

We were out to lunch and then hit a theme park last week with my brother-in-law and his wife. Much of the lunch conversation was taken up with the other three adults comparing assorted health ailments and what medications they take. I couldn't play along, because -- knock on wood -- I haven't encountered any medical issues that require intervention in well over a decade.

 

Then, when we were wandering Epcot, I kept finding myself hanging out with the kids. I finally realized it was because the adults were walking so slowly.

 

So, yes, at 47 I feel about as good, both physically and mentally / emotionally, as I ever have, possibly better. It's a nice place to be.

Edited April 18, 2012 by Jenny in Florida

[The Girls' Mom]

I feel younger mentally. It doesn't seem possible that I'm the mother of these young women. I mean...it wasn't that long ago that I was a teenager, right?

 

Physically, I feel older some days. My bones ache in the mornings in ways that never did 15 years ago. And when my dds point out all my gray hair, I feel like I look older!