The Best Age Is The Age You Are

I like myself now. I am much more cognizent of things that matter; I know better how to care for myself; I have a good stable family life - There is a lot to be said for the ages 16, 18, 30, even 40 and 50. But 60 is just fine.

I am not even 50, I shall be 40 in two weeks and half, but my age is a curse. I have recently lost my job due to labor force cuts, and now the fact of my being above 35 will make me serious difficulties in finding the new job. There is no law prohibiting discrimination in hiring on age grounds in Israel. Arabs, gays, women, recent legal immigrants, etc., are protected by law against discrimination, people above 35 are not...

Sixteen. Old enough to enjoy life, but not old enough to be cynical. Yes, I remember teen age angst, but after sixty years it becomes quite diluted.

I'll turn 41 next week. I like my age. What will it be like at 50? I hope at least as good as now. The plan is to have a bed & breakfast place in the US by that time - hopefully by the sea. People in family tend to age very well. My parents moved to Hungary three years ago and are in pretty good shape. I do quite a lot to stay in shape. So healthwise I hope it will be good.

Steissd, for a woman in Germany, 40 is a good age to find a new job. You're all done with family planning (well, most of us are), you have work experience and know what's important and what's unimportant. But for a man, it's the same thing here. Over 35? It's going to be tough. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Good luck!

Sixteen? Well, I did not like this age either: too much dependence on parents. My best ages are 18-23 when I made a kind of military career. Unfotunately, two occasions of shock wave injury stopped it...

70+ going on 25 suits me just fine. i was lucky to be able to retire in relative comfort at the RIPE, OLD age of 55. did some part-time lecture work at the local community college and some part-time business consulting for a couple of years and had no difficulty adjusting to a life of leisure. having a wonderful and understanding wife makes all the difference, of course. we know some retired people that seem to have a great deal of trouble REALLY LIVING TOGETHER pretty well 24 hours a day. since our interests in enjoying life to the fullest are fairly similar, it makes it quite easy to enjoy RETIREMENT. advice will be gladly and freely given! hbg

My 30th birthday was the hardest one for me to face. My 40th was blessed with happiness. And at 50 I can say and do what ever I want - well at least that is how I feel. When and if I ever grow up I will let y'all know if I want to be in my 20s again.

Like you hamburger I was able to retire at age 50 and have loved it although have worked a little here and there. But I am committed to the retired life more than I ever was to any job.

45 now, and looking forward to be as happy in retirement as hamburger is.

I like where i am now, but i'd like more time to walk and swim and read and do dog training. I wouldn't want to go back to any younger age. I might inadvertently end up in a pair of plaid pants, and that just isn't good.

steiss, i just started a new job about 6 months ago. Here, experience is greatly valued. My employer is currently looking for more people in our department and they are seriously considering a candidate who is past 50. He's got what they want - knowledge and connections (not in our company - in the industry).

In my younger days, I told people that I wanted to experience all of life, including how I would feel when I am old.

Not yet old, but well past 50, I do recall that age 35 was the hardest age to accept. That's because I realized then that, statistically speaking, I had already lived half my life.

A retrospective of the preceeding years was also a revelation in how quickly they had passed. Almost like an instant. How would I spend the latter half of my life was a big question mark.

I used to say I never wished to retire. That is no longer true as my body and my mind are today not as sturdy as they once were.

Now, however, after having lived through these years of the Dubya administration, I have seen some of my investments dwindle so fast that an early retirement for me is no longer possible.

I will probably have to work the remainder of my years, now, joining other "Baby Boomers" who have only recently begun to think about their own mortality.

After the events of Sept. 11, 2001, the world is surely not as I recall it to be during those halcyon days of the 50s when Dwight Eisenhower was president, and I was busy growing up.

I'm not grown just yet, nor have I grown old. I just try to live in the moment because the present moment is all I have.

When I first stopped working, retired, in 1996, I moved to Austin, TX to go to UTA and when everyone asked me what I did I would say I was retired, early out from the feds. And that I had done 25 years of hard labor and got out early.

Two things would happen lots of people thought I had been in prison which was sort of trues working a federal employee is like prison only with golden hand cuffs. And they would often say I looked too young. That one really got tiring so for fun I would tell them I was 68 years old. You would not believe how many compliments I got.

If you ever decide to lie about your age add 15-20 years and you will get lots and lots of complements about how great you look.

when we were in our early 40's my wife and i started to make our first(and many times revised) plans for early retirement. crass as it may sound, our first step was a broad financial plan including : what are our current needs, when will the mortgage be paid off, what do we think retirement needs might be. we did not lay out any formal plans at first but talked about , adjusted our plans, adjusted our living style etc. eventually more concrete ideas and plans emerged. we thought we might be able to retire when i turned 60; however just after i turned 55 the company i had worked for for 27 years made me an offer "i could not refuse". while we don't live the life of riley, we live comfortably, we do some travelling, we share the various jobs that need to be done. of course one of the advantages of living in canada is having your basic health insurance needs taken care of by universal health insurance(which is supplemented by private health and dental insurance to which my former employer contributes 50%). so far we have managed quite nicely and are happy with life's challenges, surprises and rewards. one thing we continue to do is plan our finances for the next 3 years ahead(and adjust them as needed) - it's a little bit like running your own business. hbg

HBG, that is how I try to think about it. Like I just got up from my siesta, and so on.

The only thing I have to remember is I do not have to get up to an alarm clock ever again and I am totally happy.

You're at the "best age", while you're still breathing.

Breathing is good no matter what age you are.

yes indeed but there was a really great post card in NYC back in the eighties.
It was Betty Davies with a pillow saying OLD AGE IS NO PLACE FOR SISSIES.

I don't think just 'breathing' is anything to celebrate. Some people die before they actually stop breathing. There needs to be some quality of life it is to be ideal. My wife and physician knows not to prolong my life if it means life support or loss of independence. c.i.

coming up on 43, don't even remember being 33. i sincerely hope that by 50 i've gotten off guam.

c.i.<

To me, it's not the quantity of life that matters as much the quality.

Pueo Guam may be you destiny!

c.i., I forgot about that cyclying down thing the brain does. You so are right.