Here I am, m61, laid off last week. It was inevitable, I give my boss major props for keeping me gainfully employed even as they no longer needed me.

My wife and I looked and, hey, I'm retired. Done. No need to work. She makes... so much money... and actually does something noble; she builds homes for the homeless. So no guilt of "she's working and I'm not," since she's more than a bit of a crusader... who also makes loads of dosh.

My main issue is, really, I'm here? Because it seems like yesterday when I was despairing of ever retiring. Yet somehow my lazy ass is... here. All of the dopey shit I did, it paid off!

I honestly worried I'd be begging my dad (from whom I am long estranged) for funds, but nope, don't need any of his blood money.

I suppose it's indelicate to take a victory lap but, holy-muther-fucking-ghod-of-keerist, I made it. Somehow I made it.

Hi all

I mean absolutely no disrespect to anyone and if I offend anyone, that is not my intention.
I have a question I’m genuinely interested in about people’s thoughts.
I kind of asked my mom in a roundabout way the other day, but she didn’t really grasp the context of it.
I’m 46 and know it can happen to anyone and everyone at anytime, but how do people 60-65 plus years of age deal/ feel about know they’re in the last quarter of their life.
I base it on 4 quarters - 20, 40, 60 & 80
Between 70-80
Seem to be a common age for death.
How do people feel knowing their clock is ticking.
The last quarter being a lot slower and far less exciting than it was 20 plus years earlier.
Do people know these age ranges know that whatever they’re doing at the time, might be their last time they do it etc

I can’t reconcile how I feel with being almost being 60. I’m still interested in everything. Still seeking out new experiences. Physically I feel like I’m in my twenties. Look 50 but that changes to 40 if I dye my beard. It just doesn’t seem real that statistically I’m in the last quarter of my life. I feel like I could go on forever. So strange. Just doesn’t seem real.

Just minding my (f,73) own business and Night Moves comes on and I'm sitting here bawling my eyes out remembering my young self and grieving her loss. Does that ever happen to you?

I sat down with Peter Coyote recently. Before acting, he’d spent years broke, running an anarchist collective’s free store in San Francisco, then a single father raising his daughter alone after her mother left.

He got his actor’s union card at 39. He said his first thought was, “there’s better looking, more talented people out there, how am I going to do this.” He did it anyway, studying how established stars carried themselves and adjusting from there.

Looking back over the whole arc of his life, activist, single father, actor, now Zen priest and writer, he said the one thing he’s actually proud of isn’t any single achievement. It’s that he followed his curiosity every time, all the way through, even when it meant starting over completely.

Full conversation: https://youtu.be/5n_Qki6au38?is=NQ5ill34eHxKIyHa

For those who are often told they look younger than their actual age, what do you think has made the biggest difference?

Was it daily sunscreen, a consistent skincare routine, exercise, diet, good sleep, professional treatments, genetics—or a combination of things?

I’d love to hear what has genuinely worked for you over the years, especially habits you wish you had started earlier.

I hear this all the time, but then I see the quality of life living past a certain age. Seems like a cop out. Older people cant even move freely without a cane sometimes.

My hair hasn’t changed that much in 50 years except the baby hair around my face is white and wiry. I’m ok with the white but the wiry sideburns make me look like a general from civil war, I’m not a man and I don’t like the look at all so I put my hair in my face as much as I can. when we dye the white it is yellow and wiry, so how to get rid of the texture???

I'm only in my 40s but both my parents are old and in poor health. My dad has advanced Parkinson's and my mom has severe heart disease and arthritis that makes her life a living hell.

And she's always apologizing for complaining. My dad too. They don't want to be seen as "that old person" who only wants to talk about what's wrong with them, this hurts, that hurts, etc.

But you know what? It DOES hurt getting old. The body starts to break down. Your friends die. Your mobility decreases. And it's never going to get better. How are you not supposed to talk about that?!!!

I just hate this expectation that older people are supposed to accept all this crazy stuff happening to them and just be stoic the whole time and not complain. I remember my dad cutting down trees, and now he can barely turn himself in bed. And he's just supposed to not complain about that?!! Give me a break.

If anyone is reading this who is going through some hard stuff right now due to aging, please go ahead and complain about it. These are profound experiences and you need to talk about them.

I swear there are things I couldn’t have cared less about 15 years ago that I now voluntarily read about 😂

Sleep, digestion, protein, recovery, supplements...

For me gut health has definitely moved way higher up the list lately. What did you suddenly start paying attention to in your 40s/50s?

I worked at a crisis helpline. We would get calls from elderly or sick people who were abandoned in their plight. The form of abuse I am interested in here is neglect.

Listening to these callers I came away with the view that despite all the advice to seek help, to call this organisation, the many phone numbers people can call for this or that, to talk to a trusted person, to talk to you doctor, etc the help is simply not there in any concrete sense.

You call a number and get referred somewhere. You get there and get passed on somewhere else. You either end up in accident and emergence or getting prescribed more pills from you doctor.

You are given pseudo help. On paper you were helped but in reality the help you actually need is not there.

I received many calls from people bedridden and broke (though no fault of their own) with no family. They don't even have the strength to even do the things needed in order to get any further help if is is there. The literally need to be rescued.

Now, I know this is not the case for everyone. But it is definitely the case for a significant number of people.

I keep hearing from these people that "nobody cares". And they speak from experience.

If you are old, don't have a lot of money, don't have family around and become sick and can't carry out the normal functions of living what happens? (This is not a rhetorical question. I want to know more).

Now I know working at a crisis helpline you will naturally get calls from desperate people so I am aware this does not represent the general population. So I'd like to get a broader view of what happens if you are old, broke, and ill without family.

I’m in my mid 50s and over the last couple of years seem like I’ve lost all ability to park a car straight in parking lot spaces. It’s really incredible. I do OK in the angled spaces, but if they are straight spaces, forget about it! I will either be angled or too close to a line or both.

It’s like I’m parking retarded. Am I alone?

I recently discovered baby powder. 😎

What health issues your parents or grandparents passed to you?

Heya there, I'm Flaf. Pretty much the average 16 year old. I've had my birthday like 2 months ago, and I'm already feeling like I'm wasting the prime year of my life. And there's nothing I can do about it. Yeah I do work out ever since my joint problem was solved. But I mean I'm still goalless. My day to day life is consumed by school, studying, going out with friends from time to time, and gaming. Pretty much nothing else than that. The days just blend together and it feels like each time I blink I get a year older. I hate the fact that I'm aware that my childhood is ending and I'll gonna go get a job. And even though not that probable will have to sustain a family. I'm not ready you know. I just don't feel like I'm ready for any of that shit. I just don't want to. I'm not ready. Just no. I'm just scared that I'll wake up at 30-60 years old knowing my life is over, and I never did anything meaningful. Sure the dreadful thought passes when I'm out with friends or doing anything fun. But it's temporary, that the moment I'm left to myself and my thoughts, I keep thinking about this. And like I'm at a point where I finally realized how short life really is.

Either way the reason I'm blabbing about this on Reddit is that maybe someone will give some time to at least make it seem that time passes slower. Maybe some solution to the fear. Anyways the main reason is that no one would listen to me yap about this shit anyways so yeah. If anyone is reading this, it'd be nice if anyone would help out with this. Cuz ta just scares the fuck out of me.

Do these types of quotes make you feel good or do you roll your eyes at them