You Know You're Old When...

[piejam]

Just got back from the supermarket. Went early to avoid the superbowl crowd.. passed a young mom with her daughter in one of the aisles..The child said"Look mommy, that lady's hair is the same color as Santa's beard I smiled, laughed and said "Thank You"..Thought the mom was gonna die..crumb snatcher, linoleum lizard, poster child for birth control...flashed thru my mind..lol

To add insult to injury, pulled the store flyer from my bag..Senior Appreciation Day 5% off for 55 and up..#%$& 55??? now that's hitting below the belt..Then started to think-

you look into a makeup mirror-lying down cause things look better
you hear the knee's crack when walkin up/down stairs
my brain writes checks my body can't cash anymore
ya get grey in unmentionable places
gravity is taking over on body parts
medicine cabinet is filled with prescriptions and vitamins
AARP sending me memberships/discounts
my driver's license has an old photo

Think I need a hug!...lol....anybody care to comment or add to my list, it keeps growing....guess what counts is how graciously you embrace this part of life! HELP certainly hope I grow up before I am medicare eligible....

 

[GAMMA RAY]

Sending big hug your way piejam....

You crack me up! :lol:
You seem very energetic and youthful in your posts. You also seem like you would be a lot of fun to hang out with. Think of it like this....we are like a fine wine getting better every year. (I say this as I have an anti-aging mask on my face LMFAO!)

I am going to be 43 next month and I really do not know where the hell my 30's went dammit.

I was at the grocery store about two weeks ago and a little rug rat looked at me and said to his mother....
"Mommy, look at that lady's hair...it is so short!" >:-(
I stuck my tongue out at the lil bugger when his mom wasn't looking... :lol: I know Bad Gamma Bad...

 

[piejam]

Thanks Gamma,

I needed a good laugh! Hope you are feeling better..I am behaving myself here but actually quite twisted...I have 14yrs on ya GF...and this old fine wine is now full of piss n vinegar..grrrrrrr...Well one good thing, in a foul mood now so I'm gonna clean the house and take my frustration out on the carpets...or probably will go chop up some kindling for this evening's burn...which btw I should have a supply already but got lazy...enjoying the winter that never was!

Appreciate you chiming in..Good Luck on the superbowl..My ole man was a cheesehead so I'm neutral...

+10 on getting even with the lil rugrat...I love children only when they are medium rare with tons of pepper...only kidding but then again after this morning????

Ps...sorry for the edits don't mean to be so singular deleted a lot of I's..hate that chit cause I'm not really like that....not used to conveying thoughts in writing!

 

[rottiman]

Great story, good on ya' M'am. Your only as old as you wanna let yourself be. Have a great day

 

[rottiman]

And for Mrs. Gamma: your just a young un yet!! Wish I was 43 again and know what I know now.........................You know when your gettin' old when it takes you all night to do what you used to do all night. LOL

 

[piejam]

You can call me M'am(wiseguy) just don't call me Madame

Thanks Rottiman....yeah sex goes from tri-weekly to try-weakly

 

[yooperdave]

Big deal! So they commented on the color of your hair and the length of your hair.
How do you think I felt when I was in line at the grocer's and my young son could'nt help but comment on the moustache the women in front of us was sporting??? Now that was funny! Back in those days, she had a better moustache than a few of my friends. Mrs. Butterworth?

 

[kenny chaos]

I hate it when I'm down working on something and my 21 yr. old son tries to help me up.
Then he laughs when I try to chase him.

 

[piejam]

I think woman in general feel a little differently about aging..seeing your past self slipping away..Society certainly has it's prejudices..If ya see an older gent with a young thing..well he still has what it takes...

Turn the tables and a woman is called a cougar or some people comment on her being a slut...guess it's all a matter of perception. As for me, truly not upset otherwise I would dye my hair..just thought it was funny and started to think about all the elements of aging..It's not a question of where you've been or how long but where you're at...I'd like to think that my hair and fine lines are a road map of who I am,where I've been, and where I'm going...

A really confident person isn't so transparent..they realize having a good sense of humor and a brain is far more attractive...The beauty industry in america makes a lot money off of both men and women..Some like to spoil themselves others have a need to boost their moral..

Just thought the story was kind of cute...and laughing at the aging process that awaits us all

Regards-D

 

[BrotherBart]

I will never forget the night that the waitress put the senior discount on my dinner check. Ouch. >:-(

And that was a long, long time ago.

 

[rottiman]

Remember being in Pa. about 10 years ago for deer hunting. Walked into a Dunkin Donuts with my buddy, who is 12 years younger than me. The lovely lady who waited on us was was a senior herself. She took my order, then proceeded to ask me "What is your father going to have?" We still have quite a laugh over that to this day.

 

[piejam]

Are you sure that waitress wasn't funnier than you think???? Only kidding..the hell with the rugs, I'm having a great time readings these posts! All of you are kind and good sports to share your stories...

Thanks to all who chime in...dying to start a thread on who is cooking what for the big game!! My store didn't have the family pacs of chicken wings this morning!! Sacrilege...I did spy some fresh turkey wings...hmmmmmm meaty...Just "too old" to walk 5 miles to the next store...lol

 

[BrotherBart]

Are you sure that waitress wasn't funnier than you think????

She was a sweetheart. I had been eating there for quite some time. When I looked shocked reading the check she said "Shut up and eat. Ya just saved a couple of bucks sweetie.".

 

[piejam]

Actually I was thinking about Rottiman...lol

 

[Delta-T]

I'm 36 and ASK for the senior discount.....sometimes I get it too. When I was 16ish my frined Steve said I was an old man stuck in a young guys body, and it just might be true. I move at 1 speed, and thats fairly slow.

 

[Thistle]

From early April to about late October or so I'm clean shaven & have somewhat a baby-face.I still get ID'd for booze at least once every summer.That's nice when it happens.Not now though having long thick beard w/ quite a lot of gray on the chin.

 

[BrotherBart]

Actually I was thinking about Rottiman...lol

See. I am too old to pay attention.

 

[rottiman]

These days I am stuck with a 25 yo mind housed in a 63 yo body. Still trying to figure how to make that work. LOL

 

[piejam]

Delta-t: I don't move at all! I'm RIP(retired in place) so go around me...

Thistle: must be nice to shave and look years younger- what a lucky guy!

BB: I am all for saving $$$$

Guys this is great..I'm LMAO...it very close to the 1 year anniversary of my DH's passing..so I've been very down and my soul is still in torment..You guys and gals have lifted my spirits..I can't thank you enough..words are inadequate...

 

[fossil]

I turned 55 in December of 2003, while my (now deceased) wife and I were living in Fairfax Virginia. That very morning (my birthday), we got in the car and went straight to IHOP so I could get the Senior Discount on my breakfast (actually we both got the discount, as Marsha was ~3 mos older than I). It felt almost like getting my Driver's License, or graduating, or whatever...a milestone in my life. Better than never qualifying for it. :coolsmirk: For the record, I find graying hair on mature women to be quite attractive...whether "Salt & Pepper" or outright white. Years ago I encouraged my mom to stop dyeing her hair and just go with what it was to be...we both agreed that it grew out to be very nice looking. Rick

 

[snowleopard]

...it very close to the 1 year anniversary of my DH's passing..so I've been very down and my soul is still in torment..You guys and gals have lifted my spirits..I can't thank you enough..words are inadequate...

pie, bereavement anniversaries can be rough--as can birthdays, holidays, special days while you are mourning. If it's any comfort knowing this, often they are worse in anticipation than the actual day. You hurt thinking the day will be unbearable, and by the time it arrives, it's manageable.
Day at at time, hour at a time, minute at a time sometimes, but you get through it.

Grieving also can suck because you feel down enough without ill-brought-up little snots making `am I not just too funny?' comments in the grocery store or dumb labels like cougar. It's hard work, and worse, you feel like you're going through it with nothing to show for it at the end. You can feel old, tired, and as if life is pretty much through with you.

But that's just what our minds tell us. At the end of the day there is you. More resilient, wiser, more compassionate. All of which you would, clearly, trade in a heartbeat for a little more time with him . . .

I think it's Hoss who has the sig line, "I'd rather be rich than stupid, but unfortunately, I wasn't given any choice . . .", bereaved people would rather have their loved ones back than know all that they've learned in the process, but unfortunately, you weren't given any choice. Damnit. That sucks. And I am sorry for your loss.

I can tell you that this is an active process you are going through, and the way you are feeling will change, even though right now it probably feels very much as if you are mired in stasis that will never change except to get worse. Those feelings are, deceptively, part of the process.

Many cultures go through an official grieving recognition act a year after the loss. They understand what you're going through. Our culture is a death-denying one (which is partly why, I suspect, there is so much emphasis and marketing expended on the need to not age), and so it has very little understanding of the needs of bereaved people. You're left on your own to figure it out, exactly when you most need support and understanding. This also sucks. And I am sorry that you have that to deal with on top of your loss.

I commend your courage in reaching out here the way you have, both in the stopping smoking thread and here. Best to you.

 

[HollowHill]

My grocery store tale - the bagger asked me my grandson's name ... and it was my son he was referring to! That's what I get for hanging out with a husband 9 years older than me! Has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with the fact that I was 40 when he was born. This story almost did in my older son, he about died laughing... and still brings it up with annoying frequency. Harrumphhhh!

 

[GAMMA RAY]

it very close to the 1 year anniversary of my DH's passing..so I've been very down and my soul is still in torment..

Stick around Pie....we will help ya through this tough time...

 

[Delta-T]

I'm 7 yrs older than my wife...I get carded...she doesn't hh:
I have 4 grey hairs in my van dyke (thats a goatee without the mustachio) but none on my head. I'm sure the day will come that age will catch up to my rugged good looks (maybe not so rugged) and that day I'll age considerably, like a banana left on the counter....hopefully without all the fruit flies though.

 

[piejam]

Thank you all for taking the time to cheer me up..

Rick: appreciate your point of view about how god kissed my hair with snow! Funny when DH and I bought our house(milestone) we celebrated at the local pancake cottage

Snow: as always your keen eye and understanding of human nature is a bullseye...got a little embarrassed with my so called meltdown last year..you see I lost my father in law in
July 2009, my mother Aug 2009, mother in law jan 2010, bff Feb 2011 and DH 8 days later..by the time I found this site, I was mentally/physically exhausted..a human car
wreck..

I am the only one in the family who turned prematurely silver and white..Mom and DH were really sick over 12years..think the stress is what did it..took care of them, held down a full time job with 24/7 requirements and maintained the house(cleaning, cooking, shopping etc)...think I will come thru this process stronger...

PS I'm loving all the stories...looks like we hit a grand slam with getting older! lol