How do you stop

feeling so old. I have been like this since AS LONG as I remember.

At 21, I wished I was 18 again
at 25, I wished I was 21 again
at 30 I wished I was 25 again

NOW... at (almost) 35 I wished I was..... 23

I'M YOUNG. WHY CAN'T I JUST ENJOY MY LIFE IN THE MOMENT???

I'm terrified of *waking* up one day and realized I spent so much of my life pining over another part of my life...

Right now, all I can think of is... 'ok, I'll be done with my program in about 2 more years... Aidan will be going to COLLEGE in 10 years... When will I be able to have another baby... etc etc'

It's exhausting..

Re: How do you stop

When you find the answer let me know!
I feel the same way - I don't know why I obsess over it and get depressed over it.

It's so crazy but I can't stop!

Re: How do you stop

Dont you do that with DC too! I feel like I am always putting her clothes away feeling like OMG...shes getting old! Yet shes only 2... WTH will I think when shes 21...LOL

I just celebrated my 33rd and I hate the fact that I have friends 28/29 and they are still in their 20's How friggin scary!!!!!! When they are in their 30's I will be moving towards 40 and 50 and 60 and OMG

Re: How do you stop

Posted by anonttcer

When you find the answer let me know!
I feel the same way - I don't know why I obsess over it and get depressed over it.

It's so crazy but I can't stop!

Re: How do you stop

Posted by anonttcer

When you find the answer let me know!
I feel the same way - I don't know why I obsess over it and get depressed over it.

It's so crazy but I can't stop!

Re: How do you stop

I am the same way. I remember when I was 10 wishing I was still 6. I've always felt decades more than I really am.

Re: How do you stop

I can tell you *not* to get pregnant for the first time at 41!!!

Re: How do you stop

I kind of can't relate. I'm in such a better place now than I was at 23. I LOVE who I've become -- and while I relish the memories of the experiences that have led me here, I find the present (and future!) so much more interesting and exciting.

Re: How do you stop

I feel young for my age... I'm going to be 40 in september, But i do admit sometimes i do feel old when my body starts hurting me.

Re: How do you stop

Awww C, I know for me my 30s were all about achieving, acquiring, succeeding... it's a wonderful yet STRESSFUL period in a woman's life, so you're right where I was (albeit I was childless at your age). Having passed 40 now, I find myself letting go of lots of stuff, it's incredibly freeing and while I still have the energy of my 30s its got a laser-beam focus whereas before I was pretty scattered. So it's a different kind of energy but energy nonetheless.
Maybe you'll like this one, one of my favorites about the 'upside' of aging:


Warning - When I Am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple

By Jenny Joseph
When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple
with a red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
and satin candles, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired
and gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
and run my stick along the public railings
and make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
and pick the flowers in other people's gardens
and learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
and eat three pounds of sausages at a go
or only bread and pickles for a week
and hoard pens and pencils and beer nuts and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
and pay our rent and not swear in the street
and set a good example for the children.

We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Re: How do you stop

Almost every year of my life since 22-23ish has been more fulfilling so I always try to remember that.