What makes you feel old?

when womenobviously in there 60s or 70s hurry past me - I'm only in my early 50s but have the hip of a woman 20 years older - thanks arthritis

Littlefierce I agree completely! Bought a lovely dress online for a wedding. Looked great on the model. Thought it was ok-ish on me if not as good. Then After the event I saw the photos- oh dear I looked dreadful -fat, shapeless and elderly.

And Shandi - i also find Im much more careful and slow going down steps or over stiles when I used not to think about it. But a fall would be worse so continue to do it!

With me it's the filling in of year of birth on computer forms. All that scrolling down and down and down! My biggest blessing is a sense of humour I don't know where I'd be otherwise, but just sometimes I agree it can be very hard. They do say old age is only for the brave and I'd rather be old than the alternative. Hope you feel lots better soon

Soundinmind - good luck with your knee op next month Am sure that you'll be fine. And with any luck you'll be feeling much more youthful in no time at all once your knee's fixed.

As for not being able to relate so well with your grandchildren, I'd their parents feel exactly the same way

Anyway, in answer to your qu, what made me feel old was finding out last week that I'm the second oldest member of my WI! Hence my top tip on feeling more youthful is to hang out with people who are older than you are

I look at things now, like making new friends and I think, 'can't be bothered, I'm not here for much longer'............

Pollyperkins - bet you looked great - everyone knows cameras have an evil way of adding a stone or two.
And Mollydolly - They do say old age is only for the brave and I'd rather be old than the alternative. - spot on!

Well of course there's the grunting when I get up from a chair... and my failing eyesight, though that's a blessing because I can't see how look... but mostly it's my feet ! Try as I might, I look like a Hobbit from the ankles down !

Seeing old newsreel footage from the 1950s and 60s makes me feel ancient - it looks like another world and such a very long time ago and yet I was alive then! It makes me feel glad, though, knowing I have all those wonderful memories that younger people will never have.

My sis in law is 76, TEN years older than me! And I look older than her! She's had very serious surgery on her bile duct and liver that happened the same time as my back surgery (hey, who deserts their best friend!)

She's back to her lovely youthful looking self. I struggle with lifting stuff and stamina from the back problem. I get wrinkles, she has laugh lines.

Life is ironic... it is also going very fast. It's like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end of it, the faster it goes!

Visiting a local 'time capsule' house, open to the public as a small museum, and discovering that it is full of the things I had in my first marital home.

My grandson, then four (they live in the USA so only visit once a year) sat on my knee and studied me with great interest. After a while he pointed to my neck and upper arms and asked about them. Then he said "yes great gran has this ".

Walking around an antique fair and seeing toys I used to play with.

Realising its nearly 50 years since I left school.

Admitting that I become a pensioner next year

When at 65 I tried paragliding and found it took the best part of 45 minutes to climb back to the top of the hill. Until then I'd always felt about 45! Now at 70 I feel like 48 and have recently renovated my house pretty much single handed, incuding installing a cast iron spiral staircase. Being Welsh I subscribe totally to my hero Dylan Thomas' approach which is to 'not go gentle into that good night'. And to hell with the diabetes and sciatica!

We need visas to go to China and are required to photocopy previous visas. I dug out our old passports and DH said looking at mine
Look at that beautiful woman.
He was holding my new visa photos in his other hand. I've been feeling weepy ever since and I wish he had told me at the time!

I can now understand when my mother-in-law (sorry can't remember the abbreviated version) used to reminiscent her younger days and said "Where is that young girl who used to jumped onto a moving bus on her way to work every morning?". And now here I am walking with GD who remarked "Why are we walking so slowly,Nana?" She was happy to be explained that Nana's old knees couldn't go faster. But I am thankful that I can still able to enjoy my gardening. As others also mentioned...look forward and accept it and enjoy the moment. Here's to all Gransnetters...we have to go through it all and hopefully with less pains as possible.

When I stopped plucking my eyebrows and started plucking my chin I realised the clock is ticking. .

Spiral Staircase at 70! That is so optimistic and positive, at 69 I am wondering if I will be able to fit a stairlift in my house or have to move in a year ot two.

I feel old when I look in the mirror first thing in the morning. Beginning to think I will have to give up line dancing because it makes my legs ache all week afterwards, I was loving table tennis but it makes me feel lightheaded sometimes and now I find its because I have an irregular heart rhythm so it will be back to short mat bowls - hard to get excited about that. In all honesty I could happily sit and read, watch tv , potter in the garden and do nothing (cleaning is only done when I am expecting a visitor) but as I live alone I feel I have to make an effort or maybe not.

Can't help wondering how old you have to be for people to offer you a seat on a train, and I'm thinking of getting a fold up stick so that I can look decrepid enough to turf out younger people from the seats reserved for the elderly.

I fainted at a bus stop a few years ago on a hot day and I could hear someone phoning an ambulance. She said she's very old, really really old (said with great emphasis). I recovered before the bus or the ambulance came but realised that I have gone from looking young for my age to looking ancient.

Various things I have to buy from the chemist - one of them is Gaviscon and I'm not telling about the others.
Mistakenly activating the camera on my laptop and thinking Oh my God! It's my mother! Who has been dead for a number of years.
Crinkly eyes that take longer to make up than the rest of my face put together.
Having to catch up to others when walking.
Although I appreciate it - being given a seat on public transport. Perhaps those youngsters who don't do this may be trying to be tactful.
When feeling insecure, feeling a smile come across my face reminiscent of the one Private Godfrey of Dad's Army used to wear.
Oh dear! I relate to so many other instances on here.
Behind my veneer of acceptance I feel bloody minded about it.

The fact that, in the last couple of years I have become so risk averse - I am very wary about getting into some rivers to fish now in case I can't get out again. And not being able to get up again if I lose my footing in the water. The year before last I wouldn't have turned a hair. Time to hang up my waders I think . I worry a lot about every activity that might result in a fall or broken bones, so my outdoor activities are becoming more benign. While we were on holiday last week, my d-i-l said how fit she thought I was at 70, as we were stumbling up and down the coast path together, but it certainly took its toll on me afterwards. One of the nurses at the hospital yesterday said she didn't think I looked 70. I was almost tempted to remark "should have gone to Specsavers"!

It's a mixture of things for me, every new thing takes me totally by surprise and I realise I am getting old.
Photos of me when I was younger - my face now looks donkey-like !
Looking in the mirror and seeing that my hair needs colouring AGAIN
Knowing all the words to 60's songs and enjoying them greatly
Hating the music nowadays and thinking kids are missing out on 'Good tunes'
My bingo wings - I can HEAR them slapping when I move my arms
The pain in my legs when I've walked a lot the day before
Not enjoying clothes shopping like I used to
Having to find a nice seat when at the themepark with the GK's
Having to cling on to a rail when walking up or down stairs
Not being able to 'twerk'
Finding talk of new phones and their advantages a bit like listening to a foreign language
Having a huge problem getting out of the back of cars with 2 doors
Enjoying a cup of tea instead of a glass of wine
Having to shuffle forwards in order to get off a chair or sofa
Enjoying an afternoon nap
I could go on, and on and on and on

If you are having a replacement knee then you need to be quite disciplined about your physio and exercises post op. Don't be like me and think everything will return to normal without any effort on your part because it won't. You need to be up and walking asap. Try the swimming pool to help with the exercise, don't go mad, just walk around the pool and exercise by straightening and bending your knee. It will help a lot and help you to feel more in control.

It's realising that people born in 1990 (just a few years ago!) are in reality now 26 ... and that my sweet baby grandson will be 10 in September and is now as tall as me.

Stansgran when are you going to China? We've just got our visas for China this Octobr. The up to date passport photos (no smiling) we had to produce made me look about 100!