"I've reached that age when..."

My old friends from childhood will gladly tell anyone, "BYM2, you were 60 when we were 10 so we all just caught up with you."

I've reached the age where random dads strike up conversation about how hot or cold it is.

I've reached the age where going home instead of to a bar sounds like a great idea.

I've reached the age where I bitch that all new music is ass while the stuff I grew up with is awesome.

I've reached the age where returning something to a store is a frustrating pain in the ass without a paper receipt because I refuse to download everyone's app. I was at Target Wednesday and the fact that I bought it online and (a) don't have an online profile with Target and (b) used paypal to pay since I don't have an online profile caused major headaches to try to find the necessary barcode to scan. I can't imagine how people in their 70s and 80s manage this.

 

I've carved out a nice little niche of happily drinking from mid-afternoon to early evening before heading home for a nice night on the couch. It's cheaper that way. You get to sleep at a reasonable hour. You're up at a normal hour. And I usually replace the nightcap at home with a bite of gummy so hangovers are pretty rare. I'll save the late nights for special occasions -- weddings, bachelor parties, Hold Steady concerts, etc.

Oh, and I've gotten to the age that when my teams have 8 p.m. games, it feels incredibly late. I don't even bother trying to watch Suns games unless they're on the East Coast, at least not until the playoffs.

 

The greatest phase of parenting is when they have a job and no longer ask for money, but you feel great giving it to them anyways, and are happy to slip he/she an extra $50 or $100 when they visit or when you visit them. I can't solve Micro Jr's problems, but I'm happy when he asks for advice.

When my family would go visit my parents (this is into my 60s) my dad still picked up every check, would not let me (or any of my brothers) pay. It's a stage I'm happy to reach with Micro Jr.

I've reached the age where I hate going out after dark in the winter, where I'm in bed by 9 every night.

I do my bar drinking between 4-7 on Tuesdays and Fridays, got my own stool like Norm. Space out two pints to keep the cops at bay, watch FB or BB on the tube, converse with the other regulars. My little slice of heaven.

 

One of my lifelong friends and I were born 3 days apart in 1952. Talking with her the other day, she said, "I sailed right through 50 and I handled 60 pretty well. But this 70 stuff, it's bullshit. I just can't do it." I told her that I agreed 100 percent. Some things I used to routinely do, I don't even try anymore. Christmas lights on the house? Hell no. Up the ladder, down the ladder, love the ladder .... up the ladder, down the ladder, move the ladder .... etc. No way.
That is typical. Doing nothing is just fine with me.

 

I've reached the age where, although the characters in the movies are the jerks (Principal Richard Vernon from The Breakfast Club, Judge Elihu Smails from Caddyshack, etc.), I recognize they still make few valid points.

 

I've reached the age when I identify more with the maitre de than I do with Ferris Bueller.

 

This thread also reminds me that I grew up pretty poor. I’ve never asked my parents for money. Like, they bought me what I needed, but you didn’t ask for money. There would’ve been a long pause and general confusion. My grandparents gave me $100 at Christmas and that had to be managed throughout the year for extras. I started writing at the newspaper in eighth grade to buy stuff.

 

I was 59 when I married for the first time and inherited 2 grandsons. Now there are 4 grandsons with 3 teenagers and the other in his mid-20s. But they still hug me every time they see me, so it isn't all bad.

 

For me, it’s the rundown of pain when I get up. Used to be that I could play basketball 7 times a week, drink 8 beers and shake off an ankle sprain in an hour. At 54, it’s the Achilles, the surgically repaired shoulder, the other shoulder, the back, etc.

 

I have reached the age where all my heroes are gone.

Not wailing about it, but they are missed more and more each year.

 

I'm generally in the same boat--it drives me crazy seeing a jam-packed screens, if I need an app I can just search for it--which is funny b/c my 75-year-old Dad is quite comfortable with a thousand apps on each of his swipe screens. He has three or four supermarkets in his town and he scans the ads every week and decides which place or places he's going to visit based on the deals. He'll get the app-only deals and crow about how much he saved. "I'm not a luddite," he says, in that way that infers I am. And I am!

 

I’m at the age where my son is complaining about how little he’s paid. He’s 26 and is making just a couple thousand dollars per year less than I am. My first full time job was $7.50 per hour.

And he still occasionally asks to “borrow” some money. I don’t mind, but him asking to “borrow” money is like me asking to “borrow” a Kleenex. It’s never getting returned.