Yes, I have heard all of the expressions that are supposed to make us old folks feel better. You’re only as old as you feel.

Count your age by friends, not years.

Age is something that doesn’t matter unless you are cheese.

Yeah, yeah, yeah… that all sounds good, but as a 50-something chick that needs a 30-something body to get done all that I need to get done, those platitudes don’t make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside when I have a to-do list every day of about 50 hours of work in an 8 to 12 hour workday.

I’m sure it’s not just about age though. I am sure that I could do my part to be able to have the stamina and energy that I need. I could lose 20 lbs, I could stop drinking pop (I’m trying), I could do Pilates or yoga or some kind of endurance exercises. I am definitely walking more now that I have a puppy. And my sleeping habits could be better. I stay up too late listening to political and true-crime podcasts.

But age is definitely a contributing factor to my problems. You old folks out there know what I mean. Now that we are “old,” we are occupying a totally different body than we used to and it betrays us all the time.

Getting old is not for sissies. I think it was Bette Davis who said something similar to that.

One day I was 16 and the next thing I knew I was 53 (or thereabouts). And as I get older, I want to do MORE and MORE but am able to do less and less. Isn’t that funny how life works out? All that youth and energy wasted on the young.

What did we use all of that energy for anyway? Playing Dodge Ball, swimming and chasing butterflies in the fields? I guess it’s not just youth that I miss, it’s the freedom and the carefree lifestyle that it brought. Back in the day, being young was a great way to spend the day – no taxes, you could sleep late in the summer, no deadlines or work to do, you could watch TV or listen to the radio all day (okay, sometimes I still do that), and you could eat unlimited junk food…

Besides listening music, there are a few things I still do that I did when I was a teenager – I still have a dog to love on and I still write a lot. I don’t sleep in much (remember I said I had a dog) and I eat more junk food than I should. Old age sucks because you get more “limitations” as you age.

I’m not the only one getting older either. My hubby is 12 years older than me and looking towards retirement soon – although that’s up in the air with the new “Biden” economy we find ourselves in. And most of my best friends are my age or older. One of them just turned 78!

Me and my husband used to volunteer at a nursing home when we lived down south in Tennessee and I remember the residents calling us “whippersnappers” and telling us to enjoy being young. Bob Hope said long ago, “I’ll tell ya how to stay young: Hang around with older people.”

I guess age is in the eye of the beholder. The definition of “old” is a matter of perspective. 50 used to sound old. Now that I’ve gone over that hill, I’m moving the definition of “old” up to the age of 90 to give me a little more wiggle room.

My husband is constantly checking out the ages of politicians, singers and actors on TV to make sure they are older than him. Tom Selleck? 77. Tom Hanks? 66. Michael Douglas? 78. Cher? 76. So far so good…Once in a while, we hit upon someone who is much younger than both of us like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who is only 44 years old! Although to you 30-year-olds out there, you probably think he’s elderly.

I guess the quote about age that I should be paying attention to is the one that was said by Ingrid Bergman: Getting old is like climbing a mountain; you get a little out of breath, but the view is much better!

I guess that is true. You have learned a lot and seen a lot and you have a better grasp on what’s going on and what is important. And you appreciate things more.

I also think that George Burns had a good point when he said, “You know you are getting old when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you’re down there.”

The best advice, however, came from my grandma who passed away years ago. She told me that life was short and there were more important things to do than dishes. Amen, grandma. I definitely follow that advice!