Do You Miss Being Young?

[LXEX55]

I miss the physical aspect of being young, it was great being able to eat anything I wanted without gaining weight, of having tons of energy, no aches and pains, no wrinkles, etc. but I would not want to relive it all over again. Too many painful lessons, too many slime buckets along with the way, too many hurts and sadnesses. If given the choice, I would not want to be 21 again.

 

[Nemo2]

I'd be quite happy at 35.

 

[pacergal]

Agree.
I enjoy being older and sassier!

 

[Montecfo]

I may begin to miss it when I grow old.

Seriously, my biggest thing is joints.

 

[Koogie]

No, but I do miss being handsome...

 

[Nemo2]

Seriously, my biggest thing is joints.

Is that a Bob Marley quote?

 

[audreyh1]

If I ate too much at 20 I’d gain extra pounds, so youth didn’t protect me against that - I’d have to go back to 13 when I was perpetually skinny.

I’m actually pretty happy where I am. I had to work when I was younger.

 

[jollystomper]

I do not miss being young, as the relative physical decline has been balanced by the gain in experience and knowledge. I'm at my college weight, and DW still loves my figure, so that is all I need .

Besides, I'm sure if I wished to be young again there would be a "Monkey's Paw" scenario in there somewhere .

 

[aaronc879]

I had a life changing injury at the age of 37 which has left me with constant chronic pain very likely for the rest of my life. I would absolutely love to go back to not having pain all day every day. I don't care about wrinkles or weight or energy but constant indefinite pain is horrible.

 

[RobbieB]

Yeah, 35 was the best for me all around. I finally had the self confidence I needed and the physical stamina too. Not the wisdom I gained by age 55, but hey that comes with age eh?

 

[austin944]

I recommend regular exercise to anyone who will listen. I know a lot of people hate exercise, but I think the problem is that many people start with too much and then quit when it becomes too exhausting. Baby steps is what you need.

 

[RunningBum]

There's no sense in wishing I were younger or could go back and change something. Best I can do is learn from mistakes and not repeat them. Health-wise I try to stay active so that I feel younger. 10 years ago I had some good success and talked about it in this thread: https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f38/older-thinner-faster-52566.html

Five years ago I worked on increasing distance rather than speed, and felt great then too.

The past 4 years, I've had various health issues that have limited my running, and I didn't do a good job of finding alternatives. My weight is at an all time high and I just don't feel as healthy, but those issues are diminishing and I'm trying to run myself back into shape. It's a lot harder at 59 than it was at 48, but I'm going to keep trying.

 

[razztazz]

I'd agree. Even tho 30-35 was way better than 15-25 I still wouldn't want to redo all that crap. Unless I "knew then what I know now" and had the money I have now. Otherwise what's the point? Maybe if I could go back in a time machine for an afternoon.... ? No, you can keep it.

 

[Nemo2]

At ~ 73 I still felt pretty fair....my 'best' day at stair climbing I did 7,375 risers and quit for the day almost as much out of boredom as fatigue.

Now, five years later, with sepsis behind me and a pending hip replacement ahead, I'm still moving but the 'easy peasy' factor has departed...although it did wave goodbye.

 

[timo2]

Fifty seem like the perfect age for me, if I had to choose something. The wisdom, experience, with some fitness. But then I had a heart attack at 51. So my diet needed to be wiser

 

[audreyh1]

At ~ 73 I still felt pretty fair....my 'best' day at stair climbing I did 7,375 risers and quit for the day almost as much out of boredom as fatigue.

Now, five years later, with sepsis behind me and a pending hip replacement ahead, I'm still moving but the 'easy peasy' factor has departed...although it did wave goodbye.

Don’t give up yet! On a trip a few years ago, an 80 year old in the group matched my 20,000 steps in a particularly busy day, and he had had a hip replacement not that long prior.

 

[Gumby]

Nope. I'm pretty happy exactly where I am, and I look forward to the years yet to come.

 

[MichaelB]

Nope. I'm pretty happy exactly where I am, and I look forward to the years yet to come.

Same with me.

 

[Dd852]

Body - of course. No cares, basically. Perfect eyesight, unstoppable potency, huge appetites always ready to satisfy etc etc.

But wisdom, maturity? I’m set where I am, and on balance I have enough of the sex, food, booze, travel that it all works out fine.

 

[Nemo2]

On a trip a few years ago, an 80 year old in the group matched my 20,000 steps in a particularly busy day, and he had had a hip replacement not that long prior.

Oh I haven't given up, the elliptical settings on the machine I use make it feel as if I'm walking uphill with a relatively heavy backpack, and it doesn't bother my hip, (or my knees, which have been shot for almost 45 years, and if I live long enough will require replacing...but I've been able to manage them....thus far).

I've been told by a number of people that hip replacements are a relative breeze.......however, having had sepsis once, (which is ten times more than enough), DW & I are concerned about possible infection......onward & upward.

 

[tenant13]

I miss being wide eyed and excited about life (there's a reason Romeo & Juliet were 16 and not 56) but I don't miss the anxiety about the future... there was a long time in my youth when I hadn't settled on my career and I was perpetually worried that I would end up destitute. It took me a while to learn not to ever worry about hypothetical stuff and rather focus my energy on addressing tasks at hand. Just an example of small life lessons that you learn as you age.

I miss having "all the time in the world" to decide who I wanted to be and how to live my life but I appreciate understanding the value of time that came with wasting a lot of it.

I'd say it's a tossup but given that I feel happier now than when I was young, I can't say I miss it.

 

[Koolau]

I'd love to have my young body back, but wouldn't do a trade that required me to go through all the "stuff" of youth again. Generally happy with the way life turned out though I get tired of the aches/pains and impending frailty. If I can keep my wits, and die in my sleep, I'll say it was a good life.

I claim this statement as my own but I'm guessing someone famous came up with it long before I did:

I always knew I would get old. I just never thought it would happen so fast. YMMV

 

[RAE]

Nope. I'm pretty happy exactly where I am, and I look forward to the years yet to come.

+1, same here. If I were younger, I'd have to W**K, and I am so done with that part of my life! I suppose the physical aspects of being younger would be nice to have again, but if I had to work, it wouldn't be worth it, ha!

 

[iloveyoga]

Not really....pretty happy with where I am overall. I do miss my kids and grandkids being young, such very good times!

 

[W2R]

When I was young, I was stronger and prettier but not very wise. Sure, I did well at university but outside of class I sure did some brain-dead, stupid, dumb things! (thinking of the 1960's..... yeah, OMG, for sure).

I think that as I grew older, I got a little more savvy in the ways of the world and gained a little wisdom; I think I have lots better judgment now. I also learned how to be happy. For me that was a learned skill and one well worth developing.

Even though I think I was much prettier when I was young, I didn't *know* that at the time so I didn't get any enjoyment out of it. I'd look in the mirror and think I was ugly. So, that wasn't an advantage.

I'm not as strong as I was back then, but there are helpful devices and people that can assist me.

My metabolism was amazing and I could eat like a horse and not gain - - but back then my finances wouldn't allow me to buy enough food, so I was always hungry. I am still always hungry but now it's because I have to cut back on calories.

All in all, I am enjoying my old age a lot. The only damper on that enjoyment is knowing that we all have an expiration date, outliving those dear to me, and knowing that one of these days the end will come for me as well.