Losing my hair - humbling.
Needing reading glasses - aggravating.
Realizing all the things I could have accomplished (and mistakes I should have avoided) "if I knew then what I know now" - priceless.

at 53 I still have all my hair and not much grey,, still don't need reading glasses to read a newspaper.. However one knee replacement and two hip replacements means I don't jog anymore (still ski 40 days a year however).
I think it's that the hot chicks I date are getting old!! LOL

My second biggest complaint is that my wife can't get her feet behind her head any longer...;)

But seriously, she never could.

But seriously, seriously.......the back problems have been the biggest long term problem. The surgery was "successful" but the cutting of the spine, ligaments and muscles never allowed for flexibilty and chronic pain and bad, bad muscle spasms.

The PRP injections have been an absolute gift from the almighty, (Workers Comp) and now I am without pain, regaining my stamina and flexibility and have been spasm free.

The Crohn's has sucked, perianal fistulas, surgeries and all. The Humira injection has thankfully taken care of that problem.

I hear you all and could'nt agree more!

But, I can still run (work) circles around all these young punks! I work from 6am to 6pm, go to sleep between 11 pm and 12am, get up at 5 am and do it all again.....and I have more energy than the young guys.

I've had so many chances to not make it to this age I am pretty happy about it.

Yeah, reading glasses. I've had to use them since I was 43, so I've contended with them for 26 years now & still I'm not used to it. I know I'm not as strong, plyable, or fast as I used to be and have stiffness & minor pains where I didn't before, but I'm OK "for my age." I'm planning to go for two weeks of hiking & backpacking in the Sierras next summer, since I'll have time to try to get in to shape for it because I'll have most of my big projects out of the way. It'll be interesting to see how it goes, since I'll be 70 then. One bummer was that I asked my best friend if he wanted to go with me, and he said he didn't think so because he didn't want to take a chance on having to be evacuated by helicopter.

Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional

Now that's funny, try throwin them over your shoulder if it bugs you that much SmileWavy
Finn

it isn't that more parts hurt, (or that parts hurt MORE),
its that the little hurts take way longer to go away!

At some point - between my 50th and 60th birthday - my azz just fell off!

One day, stepping out of the shower, I turned, looked in the mirror and it was missing.

Let me know if you find it....

I may not be as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was.

I'm 53, and the beneficiary of drawing a long straw in the genetics department. Not that my dad lived a long time, but I've had a robust body all along and it's not let me down yet. Yet. It's comin'. In the meantime, I am planning a 3-day backpacking trip and wonder if I can make the 15 miles all the way into (and out of) Chickamin Lake, in one day each, leaving me with a day in between for rest and solitude. I probably can but if I do, it's going to hurt.

It takes a great deal of patience these days to take a leak. Reading is impossible without glasses. Things come into focus at about 6-8 feet!

I can't run or jump worth a damn anymore. I could not long jump 20 feet to save my life, no way I crack 4 minutes on a mile again and I could not run 100 yards under 10 seconds if my ex-wife was chasing me.

I will probably die with a full head of hair, and could not care less about it.

other than some pains here and there, being on the high side of 50 is just fine by me.

Not being able to do triathalons like that 67 year old guy. I am 54.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1314306352.jpg

You know, on reflection, I would say that the biggest thing is that I really do not care any more what people think. I am what is called a crisis executive, I get called in when the company is a mess and needs to be straightened out. I normally get about 6 months to lock into a path and usually less than 24 months to make it real.

When I was young and stupid, people used to challenge me, call me nasty names, plot and scheme how to stop me, try and intimidate me.....all sorts of stuff. I spent endless hours fretting, plotting, planning, doing devious stuff that would make Machiavelli seem like a Boy Scout. I cried, screamed, prayed and stressed - highest blood cholesterol measured at our hospital. My kids respect me but love their mom, and I am ok with that....the kids are really hers anyway.

Now I no longer need any more work....I have more than I could ever do, while I am not wealthy I have enough for the rest of my life, and I really do not give one giant rats ass what anyone thinks of me.

Anyway, I just do not care at all about ANYTHING. I feel like I started on a marathon, fought the good fight, slayed all the dragons, especially my personal ones and crossed the line. I am done...finished, life is too predictable and problems that seem difficult are easy for me....as I have seen them 10 times before.

I guess I wish I was able to relax and really enjoy the fruits of my labours......I have many enemies, many who fear, a few who I consider good colleagues, a tiny number I consider friends....and the ones who think they would be of a particular category in my mind usually are not. People who I have seen do horrible things to others think that I am their friend, I would not reach over to save them from the oncoming bus. I guess I would really just like to left alone.

D.

People try and intimidate me and I tell them that I have faced far better than they and guess who is here? Not the other guy!

I openly tell them that I am intimidated by no one on this earth and I bow the knee to no man. I have been known to laugh when some large fromage tries to intimidate. I mention that I am on the 1/2 plan...piss me off once and I am gone in 2 weeks (my notice period).

My eyes see it, my brain thinks it but my dick won't do it.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/suppo...s/a_frusty.gif

like Dean,
I never believed I would make it this far..
too many reason & events that could have ended otherwise ..
getting older is not something I worry about.....
got my hair, healthy,still married, still in love,great dogs,Porsche in the garage..
some real friends,

I fear growing old and not being there...
and if that happens..
plan B is okay..

Rika

asking my cardiologist is it OK to get a viagra prescription.:D

I gave my ears a Brazilion wax.... so no problem there.
I don't feel 57 (58 in Nov.) but every time i walk past a mirror i have to wonder who that is looking at me.
Takes a little longer getting upright after a session under the car.
Knees and shoulders seem to be my worst areas......Have to take my glasses off to see up close
but lately i find myself reaching to take them off......and they're already off.

50's were awesome years.....

60's.......... hmmmmmmmmmmm. hand eye coordination is not anything like it use to be.

I burn out physically, faster than I use to, have to pace myself and work smart to et the same productivity.

advantage? yeah, "pattern recognition". I know the answer faster than the young bucks do....... and they know it.

Included in cataract surgery was fixing my extreme near-sightedness. I ended up with a -2 left eye that's perfect for reading. The right is close to 20-20. I tried to accomplish that with contacts a number of years ago without success but for some reason it works great now.
58 doesn't feel much different than 38, grayer and wrinklier but I could wear the same jeans I wore in high school.
Jim

Losing the hair on top used to bother me, no I don't care. I'm 57, Techweenie, you do not look 6 years older than me.

Working under a car is a pain even with progressive lenses, but you can never seem to be at the right distance to focus properly.

Everything works just fine, no aches and pains, can do pretty much what I want. I regularly travel 9-10 time zones, and if I get where ever I'm going by dinner time and turn in at a decent hour, I can get up at 6 AM with no jet lag.

No blue pills, make love to my wife 3-4 times a week, its all good.

"Irks you the most about getting old"

-I'm 45. How that happened, I cannot imagine [If you are born on January 22, 1966, and today is August 25 2011 = 45. I hate math!] I still weigh exactly the same as I did in high school, and still have one pair of cords that I wore then- they fit perfectly, 30 inch waist. Most days if I'm not asleep or working, I run 6.2 miles at a 7:30 pace. I generally cannot sit still- I'm waay more active than the neighbors 17 year old kids, who are both fat and sit at their computer all day long. Neither of them could keep up with me on a run for more than 200 yards. In Memphis last spring, I was running the Chickasaw trail at Shelby farms, and a local high school track team was practicing. They were going faster than my usual 10k pace, but I jumped in with them and while I was working...I had no trouble pacing them, it felt like 7.0 minute miles.

If a 45 year old can pace the local high school track team, then I'm sorry, but the average 50 is NOT old!

N!

most common irk = Reading glasses (in dim light; still ok in good light)

worst irk = rate of climb

I plan to fix it all by getting my telomeres re-wrapped.

<iframe width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1zdDfQrPi5Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Perhaps YOU'VE had that problem, but I sure haven't!

[relax! That was just a little "poke"- SmileWavy]

N

Gout...

I now find that I can catnap almost anywhere, anytime. Planes, taxis, shuttle buses, meetings . . . almost anywhere. The downside is that I NEED the nap.

But this thread does make me feel better.

Ian

Attitude- catch myself having a bad attitude like the guy i was judging the day before... and my opinion about mankind... dunno: ya know you get old and crotchety, I don't like that at all. I love younger people before they get tainted with getting knocked down . I try to live my life knowing that its a test. How will I do. Will i act like a person thats young and inexperienced or will I act a certain way that when it's over I can say Yea I caught it before I acted like a stupid azz and laugh about it, Hope so....

Mossguy, i wish you the best with your surgery.

Getting older is MUCH better than the alternative. I know many that didn't make it to my age (50). I'm thankful to be here, in one piece to enjoy my family, friends and life!

I'm 53. A few complaints, I guess. I have aches and pains in places I never even had places before.

But the advantages are pretty strong. I've become extremely selfish with my time. EXTREMELY. I dropped my department chairmanship, my seat on the hospital governing board and every single committee assignment.

I just canceled a full day in my office to take my kids rafting on the American River before they go back to college. Yesterday I canceled a meeting to take my daughter to lunch.

Last week I walked out of a meeting to have dinner with an old friend because he texted me; "I haven't seen you for a while. If you're free let's grab dinner"

When I get invited to a boring cocktail party given by hospital executives, it's 100% certain that I'll stay home and barbeque for my family instead.

I'm taking more vacation. Sometimes just to hang out with my family or good friends.

No longer giving a crap is liberating. I'm selfish with my time and it feels good. I was incapable of this 10 years ago.

burying your parents

Ahhh, to be 50 again. :( One of the factors of selling the P-car...putting it on jackstands, maintaining it, detailing it's bottom, etc. was once a joy. The last few years I had the car, this became physically painful...bursitus in the shoulders, hip pain, etc.

Many try, but nobody beats father time.

Things that "irk"...........
 

I'm doing pretty good for 62. No major health issues, still do (and teach) martial arts and generally do what ever I want. However, the thing that bothers me the most is that my friends and family that are about my age or slightly older are not doing so well. It really bothers me to see loved ones starting to lose their youth.

Thanksgiving day this yr marks my 63rd on this good earth, I can't believe its been that long, were has the time gone??????

Lets see, 13 surgeries later, darn, I am almost bionic. Never a day goes by without some aggravation.

Biggest irk, my eyes, used to have 20/10 20/15 vision, now my reading glasses at +2 works pretty good for distance. I am going in for a eye exam in acouple of months and hope its time for cataract surg. cuz those good lens should fix my reading and distance.

My johnson still works and I am thankful for my wife that puts up with me.

I should have pulled the plug 5 yrs ago but now feel like I am stuck until the economy turns around so I can get a descent price for practice and office.

MY biggest thing that I treasure the most is my privacy, too many people out there.

There are advantages to having kids a bit later in life, one of which is time. I worked from home quite a bit the past four months simply because the kids were home, will not always be, and I, while I relish their independence, rue the day the house no longer vibrates with them.

At only 45 the worst by far is the arthritis.

I used to have bad days where my hands would hurt some, now I have good days when they only hurt some. Hair loss and glass's are nothing compared.

My wife made this for me. Some truth to it.


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1314379814.jpg

I'll agree that "getting older" does have certain advantages. The fact that I can now take more time off and start to enjoy the fruit of my labor is a priority. After working like a dog for the last 40 years it is rewarding to be somewhat independent. It is also a great feeling no worrying about what others think of me nor do I care so much what I say to people. Albeit, nothing nasty or demeaning.

I do think that I am in a great position. I now have the time and money to live a little and still physically able to enjoy working and doing the things I enjoy.

surprised no one has posted that "Old Age is Not for Sissies" poster yet

Kids who won't get off my lawn!