How can we stop becoming 'old' as we age?

I think my son-in-law despairs of me. The other week I put on my dragon ear cuff to show him. 'How old are you? he asked with an eye-rolling look. Hmph!

Re Deedaa's MIL.Just the thought of crimplene dresses fills me with horror. Several years ago I told my family to shoot me should I ever wear one. In my mid 60s I often wear Jeans,as do many of a similar age now.My DD laughed at me when I started wearing them at 60,because I'd never been keen on them when younger. Long may they last----they're so comfortable (except after Christmas!)

I don't find jeans comfortable at all, although I've worn them since being a teenager, and still do when I go out. I prefer to slob out in jogging bottoms at home, although I wouldn't be seen dead in them out and about...

I expect that's a sign of ageing...sigh...

I started a small business in November called the Vintage Hostess. Having been made redundant in January 12 and realising that ageism still exists and potential employers think when you are 60 + you have lost your marbles!!
I am enjoying myself and fulfilling a pipe dream selling vintage china.

Good for you Mads. No reason something like that can't run until you are 90 if you are so inclined.
A friend of mine started cleaning for a few friends who don't like it while they are out shopping etc and now cleans three or four mornings a week then sits down and has lunch with them and gets home about 2 with the rest of the day to herself.
She actually does like cleaning and says her friends are so clean and tidy on the whole that it is a doddle.

Mads that sounds great. What a good idea. I'm planning to retire towards the end of this year and was happily knitting away on my train commute last month (making a copy of the beanie I was wearing, for someone at work - an "order") when a woman came over to me (train was quiet), gave me her business card and said "I have a wool shop and if you ever want a part time job, come and see me". I said "Doing what?" (I was startled). She said "Exactly what you're doing ,plus chatting to my customers". Sounds appealing - I really do believe there is always something to be found workwise.

Looking into the mirror in the morning, I almost agree with the rest of the world that I am getting older but as the day goes on I forget about it and become 20 again (certainly in my mind). Somebody once said to me that the secret of keeping young is that one has to continue to learn one new thing every day, and I am trying .....

I think it is very much to do with staying interested in the world about you and being willing to listen to others and not hanging on to opinions and ways of doing thing, just because we have always done them that way. Often we can't help some of the things that happen as we get older and of course some times it is our minds that go. If we are always willing to learn and maybe try new things when possible, we can stay young at heart.

You're business looks great Mads. Found you on facebook too. Glad you managed to slip that ad in without the buggers beady-eyed ones at Gransnet HQ noticing. Well done.

Good luck with the business.

This thread reminded me this morning of the Frank Sinatra song my lovely mother would sing to us growing up, I see I was 5 when it came out

Young at Heart www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTcmCxqOE_s

Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you
If you're young at heart.
For it's hard, you will find, to be narrow of mind
If you're young at heart.

You can go to extremes with impossible schemes.
You can laugh when your dreams fall apart at the seams.
And life gets more exciting with each passing day.
And love is either in your heart, or on it's way.

Don't you know that it's worth every treasure on earth
To be young at heart.
For as rich as you are, it's much better by far
To be young at heart.

And if you should survive to 105,
Look at all you'll derive out of being alive!
And here is the best part, you have a head start
If you are among the very young at heart.

I love that song Grannyknot

Congrats, Mads...I wish you the success you deserve.

Being new to Gransnet and reading the comments "everybody seems young to me " it's just our bodies that are older. So to work on that as much as possible !

Hi Soop, Grannyknot, Jo5 and Rinky, what fun you all are and so encouraging. Sold my first item today and I love networking with others.
You should be in my coffee group, very naughty but we meet most days till we get thrown out at 12am. Go for that knitting Grannyknot, you should see how popular it is on Craftybums and Folksy ( google it). Getting a job offer just like that is brilliant.
I love this site and also use it for snippets for our local Age UK newsletter. Hopefully it encourages people to log on.
Bye for now Mads

A beige zip up jacket would signify that I had truly given up...have told Fh to shootme if I ever suggest buying one!

Where I live (semi-rural, quite a lot of retired folk) there is a certain make of car that a lot of the old people seem to drive, and I just dread getting stuck behind one doing 35mph on the 60mph bit of our road...I won't name names, because I know at least one GN member has one, but I would rather give up driving completely than own one of those!

For me it's a shopping trolley on wheels, they make me cringe. I can remember my granny having a wicker one which she used to pull along when we went shopping. Some older ladies used to pop their Pekinese or Yorkshire terrier dogs in them, horrible yappy little things grr.

One way we can stop ourselves from becoming old as we age is to avoid saying the sort of thing I came out with last week.

I suddenly found myself saying, on two separate occasions, to young family members who were spending a lot in the sales:

'Have you won the pools?'

Blank looks of course.

I don't know where it came from because I haven't even thought of Littlewoods for years.

Thanks Nonu for you good wishes. I'm still feeling rubbish today but am back home so will cough in my own bed tonight!

Bags although I think some basic traits will never change, life's circumstances can change us quite a lot. Phsychometric testing is only considered valid for about 18 months as after that it is quite possible we have changed, which I think is great. I don't want to always be the same and therefore predictable.

Also, I must defend my killer heels against the suggestion that they are bad for the back. I had polio and have one leg shorter than the other and the resulting scoliosis and was told never to wear flat shoes as the high ones help my back to cope. No sympathy please, I'm used to it and it doesn't hurt so I never let the medics anywhere closer than just looking!

Move. we will go with our 4inch heels wherever the wind may take us .X

I can just see you both, like galleons in the breeze....

ohh , such a sweetheart .

All I say is please God preserve me fromm becoming a crabbed old woman.

Just bercause

ANA x

Ana ,, or even because !!