When Was the First Time You Felt "Old"?

[diz_girl]

I recently started having some "old" moments when I walk by or into a store and say that the music is too loud or that it's garbage.

Don't old people say that?

In my defense, since when did stores (other than music stores) start to have really loud music? No 'since you got old' comments please. Also in my defense, most new music out there is garbage. A lot of music of any single generation is. No generation can get by without a lot of stinkers in their music repertoire.

[darthmacho]

For parents, age is always put into perspective when you inevitably say, "Oh my! My child is (blank) years old!" It doesn't matter if your child is 5 or 50, it really makes you know that life is way too short.

On a more personal nature, I felt old when I was in my early thirties and I went to a rock concert. I don't even remember who it was (Marilyn Manson maybe?) but I looked around and there were almost all teenage kids surrounding me. I felt ridiculously out of place and decided to go to concerts with a crowd more my age after that.

[SandmanGStefani24]

i just recently turned 30, and i fortunately still look relatively young. most take me for 21-24 or thereabouts. kids think i'm cool because im into all the current trends, and older people think im young for the same reasons. still, it hits me everyso often. i work retail sales and meet lots of people and families.

key points, when talking about something current like guitar hero, and Guns N' Roses is featured. I listened to them, and still do but I keep forgetting that 1987 was 22 YEARS AGO! And most kids who play the game were babies or worse, not born yet! It's already classic to them, but still current to me!

Or when they think I'm just a little older and they ask me when I graduated (high school) and seeing the shocked look on their faces when they realize I am almost their parent's age. I'm glad im not aging to badly, but i am all the more aware that I'm not the kid i used to be.

bummer!

[Septbride2002]

When I started realizing that professional athletes were younger then me was a HUGE I feel old moment for me and I am only 29.

Probably the biggest thing was when I realized I just cannot get away with walking out of the house w/o makeup on. I use to NEVER EVER wear makeup and my skin had this lovely glow to it (comes from being Irish pale) but not so much now.

~Amanda

[darthmacho]

When I started realizing that professional athletes were younger then me was a HUGE I feel old moment for me and I am only 29.
~Amanda

Haha good point! I felt the same way when I realized that grizzled veteran Red Sox catcher, the captain of the team, and possibly washed up, Jason Varitek is a YEAR YOUNGER THAN ME! Ouch. Apparently Mike Lowell is FOUR YEARS YOUNGER THAN ME, and David Ortiz is FIVE YEARS YOUNGER THAN ME. How can that be? I guess I am getitng old.

[Septbride2002]

Haha good point! I felt the same way when I realized that grizzled veteran Red Sox catcher, the captain of the team, and possibly washed up, Jason Varitek is a YEAR YOUNGER THAN ME! Ouch. Apparently Mike Lowell is FOUR YEARS YOUNGER THAN ME, and David Ortiz is FIVE YEARS YOUNGER THAN ME. How can that be? I guess I am getitng old.

I find margaritas help you forget about being old....until the next day when you can't suffer through a hangover like you use to.

~Amanda

[Mickey91]

A few years ago I tried to teach my daughter how to do a cartwheel. I made a successful cartwheel, but I was sooooo sore for like the next week!! EVERY MUSCLE IN MY BODY HURT!!!

[drummerboy]

DW and I have realized that we've both started grunting when we get up from our chairs.

[Marilyn Michetti]

Go to an antique store, and point at this and this and this, and say, "We used to have one of those".

[mickeys_princess_mom]

1.) When I decided to answer this thread...
2.) When I tried to teach my daughter how to roller skate, something I had never really done cause we lived in the country. Not too old to skate--just too old to fall.
3.) When I mustered the courage to head back to college the day my youngest started kindergarten, and in the very first class of the day the professor told us to each state our name and the year we graduated H.S. What was the point of that?! Brought it home pretty fast. The cool part was though that the class was British Lit., and pretty soon the rest of the
"kids" were lost, and the prof and I enjoyed discussing the books pretty much exclusively (we were about the same age). Kind of gave me back my confidence

[disneykid@hrt]

I'm only 26 BUT...

When my mom and I said the same thing to my daughter at the same time...

[DisneyRN]

I don't feel old certain weeks...but I feel very old at other times.

For example, as of recently, 3 college freshmen have moved in upstairs in my apartments. They do not live directly above me; they are just in my building. What annoys me is that there are ALWAYS people over. And when I say people, I mean like 20-30 people. There is NEVER parking at my building. For the past week I have been sick with Swine Flu. Do you think I want to park far away and walk with a bunch of stuff to my building?

That said, I just turned 31, I still go out when I am not studying for my Master's classes/have DD/working, so I thought I felt fairly young. But, when I started yelling at the college kids for having too many people over and having too many cars parked here, I felt VERY old.

Somewhere after 28-30 you start seeing things in a different light.

[ElenitaB]

The first time I really felt OLD was when I was temping at a PR agency a few years ago, and while talking with a co-worker, discovered that we were both SUNY Albany alumni. However, the year I graduated was the year she was born! Talk about feeling old!

I no longer fret about being old though... with a dad and many aunts who died young, I consider growing old to be a privilege. After all, consider the alternative!

[Marilyn Michetti]

The (georgeous) 20 year old trainer at the gym pats my hand, and says, "you're doing fine, DEAR."

[AdventurerKim]

I really felt old last year when none of my sixth grade students knew what a "record" was, as in music vinyl, which I collect and still play. I feel old when I read that a celebrity that looks my age or older and is actually younger then me. Normally I don't think about my age unless a situation comes up that reminds me of it, although I am grateful not to be a teenager these days.

[Kenny1113]

A few years ago I tried to teach my daughter how to do a cartwheel. I made a successful cartwheel, but I was sooooo sore for like the next week!! EVERY MUSCLE IN MY BODY HURT!!!

I did this as well for my kids, hurt so bad I decided not to go for the round-off !

As for when I felt old... Today I had to go to the university to do some stuff for school (taking online courses for a higher degree). Everyone was so young and every one at the information desks I went to for help would give me that look.

[AHOTE]

I knew I was when I realized that 2011 it will be the 40th anniversary of the opening of WDW and that most of the people who have responded to this thread had yet to be born in 1971!

[Cinderelley]

I knew I was when I realized that 2011 it will be the 40th anniversary of the opening of WDW and that most of the people who have responded to this thread had yet to be born in 1971!

I was born in 1971. Maybe I should celebrate my 40th bday with WDW.

[teambricker04]

Post inspired by my current surroundings. I am in my early thirties but I feel very old right now. I am travelling on business and the coworkers here that I am working with are all fresh out of college! I feel like I could be thier mom even though the age difference is probably only 10 years. LOL so help me feel like I am not alone here. When did you first feel the generational gap?

Well, you don't work with my DH! He is in an industry where people aren't retiring... he is one of the youngest in this large coporation and a lot of the people are around 20 years older than him. He gets comments all the time about being an "intern" which he hasn't been in a very very long time.

My thing is when I go to the doctor and he or she is much more educated than I am and yet so much younger. I think to myself "When did you have the time to do this?!?!?" It makes me laugh every time!

I am also in my early 30s and don't feel old in the least. Nothing hurts, my eyesight is the same, I can stay up late and get up early (not like I use to, I guess but enough for me!)... over all I am enjoying growing older and life changes.

[Tinkerfreak]

Well when I woke up this morning and realized today is my 41st birthday I felt old. I prefer to call it the 2nd anniversary of my 39th birthday just to make me feel better.

I think the hardest though was last year when I was 40 and went for my yearly physical, dental cleaning etc. everyone kept saying "well now that you are 40 you need to......... yada yada yada" People stop reminding me I am 40 paaaleeeese!!!!!
Because my birthday is on 9/11 I never celebrate it on the actual day. Just a personal choice out of respect. Since turning 40 I really don't feel like celebrating and kind of just want to pretend it isn't my birthday and that I am not getting older.