| Age Appropriate Behavior
Posted: 6/22/2007 7:41:24 AM | Is there such a thing when you reach over 45? Are there any guidelines that say that when you reach a certain age, certain behaviors are acceptable and some are not even though they may just exist in the mind? Is it disturbing to see someone who is older doing something that would normally appeal to the younger crowd? Or do you applaud their courage and willingness to 'step out of the zone'?
Sometimes I hear women who see an older man doing something say "he's acting like an ol' fool', while men seem to view them in a much different light. 'Midlife crisis' is a term used often to describe people who act younger than their age. 'They are old and they just don't want to admit it or accept it'.
So, what do you think? Do you act as old as you feel or do you have to have some restraints when you reach a certain age? | |
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| Age Appropriate Behavior
Posted: 6/22/2007 7:55:28 AM | I act like I do at this stage in my life. I go full tilt because I have tons of energy. That is just me at my age.
I do sometimes think that people think I must be younger because of my energy levels I think that a lot of people think that people act age appropriate so they see me as being young than I think I look.
I love the energy of new music, so you will find me listening to it, and going to events which feature high energy Latin music or hip hop. Most people my age seem to think it is appropriate at our age to think that the oldie's are the way to go. I have had quite a few people think I am weird to not be into the same music I was as a teen.
Being a person who needs new idea and artist dance in my life, I have to move on in my tastes as things change. I do feel that a lot of people see this as not age approapriate.
I think I must have had my midlife crisis at the age of 30. Thank God for that. My lifestyle is very uncomplicated now, as I worked through the complication of life at a very young age.
I never thought about others thinking my behaviour isn't age appropriate. Don't much care about it either. I am just me, being me. | |
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| Age Appropriate Behavior
Posted: 6/22/2007 7:57:49 AM | I applaud their courage, lonvin2b. I know I feel a lot less restricted now at my age, than when I was younger. Now that doesn't mean I'm going to go bungee-jumping, but it does mean I have more going on in my life.
Remember that saying? "Youth is wasted on the young"
I hated that saying when I was a kid - now I understand it. | |
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| Age Appropriate Behavior
Posted: 6/22/2007 8:59:46 AM | I don't have a problem with anybody acting how they want to, age appropriate or not. I applaud those who are true to themselves by acting and doing things that are within their comfort zone and not by others expectations. I don't act as old as I feel, for the most part. I've always been blessed with loads of energy, nobody's ever going to tell me I'm not being 'appropriate' by their set of standards! ( Who are *they* anyways, lol.) However, there is a time and a place for all things, I find my public side is sometimes different than the side that sometimes shows at home where I'm allowed to be more exuberant and 'fun.' Spunk is not something that we have to put away when we reach a certain age! To each their own though, that's what makes us all unique and our own person. The world would be a pretty dang boring place if everybody conformed to other peoples ideals of how *they* think others should act. Viva la difference!  | |
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| Age Appropriate Behavior
Posted: 6/22/2007 9:00:33 AM | I do what I want, when I want. The only difference as I get older is that what I want to do now might be different than what I wanted to do 20 years ago. 20 years ago, climbing along under Lion's Gate Bridge seemed like a fun idea and so I did it.
Seem like a good idea now? Not so much :) | |
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| Age Appropriate Behavior
Posted: 6/22/2007 9:03:31 AM | | Edit: Oooooops, that should be: "I don't act as old as I am", lol. (But, I guess that's kinda' a freudian slip...some days I actually DO feel 'old', just not that often) | |
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| Age Appropriate Behavior
Posted: 6/22/2007 9:11:54 AM | Was it age appropriate for me to walk on the spension bridge that an employee told me freaked her out. I was just disappointed cause it seemed so tame
Think I will have to be atleast 80 before the bridge scares me, and why scaryness would be caused by slowing other people down who want to cross over to the other side.
I do think that I may need to rethink my choice in dog breed companions in the next few years. Living with dogs that weigh more than me is not age appropriate behaviour for myself or the dogs. Dealing with a creature that weighs more than we do would it is sick isn't a job for someone who is aging. Today, hiking one of my dogs up into my truck with his hip dysplasia is back breaking. A few years from now probably impossible.
I have been think that the vehicle we drive may have to change to be more age appropriate. I have never liked the look or feel of driving a van, but my shoulders are scream "No more lifting heavy objects into the SUV". | |
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| Age Appropriate Behavior
Posted: 6/22/2007 9:58:48 AM | I act in a manner appropriate for ME
not how some stranger arbitrarily decides a woman over 50 should act | |
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| Age Appropriate Behavior
Posted: 6/22/2007 10:10:49 AM | In the privacy of my own home, I act, feel(ok, maybe feel a little older) and look my age.
BUT, since I like to laugh and make others laugh, I'm a clown, so if something strikes me, I'll do it or say it.
When I was young, horse play wasn't allowed, we had chores to do daily and if we screwed up, boy watch out, sh*t hit the fan.
Now that I am my own adult, I allow myself plenty of time for play, and no one, no where is going to tell me to hush or stop laughing, IF they do, lol, that gives me an even bigger insentive to stir the pot. | |
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| Age Appropriate Behavior
Posted: 6/22/2007 10:24:11 AM | | I don't think about acting a certain way based on age. I act the way I want to because that's ME! Of course there are times when we have to show responsibilty and act according to the situation, but in general, nobody is going to tell me how to act. All of my employees are students at the university I work at and they all tell me that I don't seem like someone their parents' age. I seem more like one of them. I take that as a compliment that I'm not some old fogey. I have never had a mid-life crisis. In fact, I don't think about age. I just live my life the way I want to and to hell with age. | |
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bayrab
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Joined: 5/16/2007
Msg: 12 | |
| Age Appropriate Behavior
Posted: 6/22/2007 11:11:04 AM | Guess I'm not quite sure what age appropriate means. Now that I'm over 50 should I give up rock and roll? should i quit listening to Alice Cooper's radio show? Should I quit riding horses and take up knitting? Quit going out on dates and become a spinster instead? Quit driving my truck and get a sensible old lady's car? Give up jeans and running shoes in favor of old lady stretch pants and black tie shoes?
I really don't feel much different inside than I did 20 or 30 years ago. I hope a little wiser, but my spirit is still strong and most of the things that were important to me then are still important to me now.
I still have dreams and goals. I still giggle and get silly. I still love deeply and get rewarded and get hurt.
When I was a little girl, my grandmother once told me, "Chrissy, I look in the mirror and don't know who is looking back at me."
I know what she means. I still feel the same inside but often wonder who is that person in the mirror.
As long as I keep waking up on this side of the dirt, I'm going to keep enjoying my life and the people and things that matter to me. And if someone doesn't think my behavior is age appropriate, that's his or her problem, not mine.
chris | |
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| Age Appropriate Behavior
Posted: 6/22/2007 11:11:44 AM | | I'm one of those " old fools " I'm only 56 , yet I have been told I'm to old to ride a Motorcycle. I love to ride! I'm to old to ski the way that I do. again skiing is fun and I'm not taking crazy risk. I know my limits and push to those limits. I like to hand out around creative people. i like to hear fresh ideas and different points of views. the day you stop living life is the day you start dieing. | |
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| Age Appropriate Behavior
Posted: 6/22/2007 11:13:25 AM | Oh man ... is this a rough thread for me to make any positive comments on. I've been swimming determinedly against the current my entire life (not just an 'age thing'). Seldom will I enter any room or any environment and come even remotely close to 'fitting in' with what's going on there. When I turned 40 (a long time ago, now), I just took it as a belief to not worry about it anymore. If people look at me funny ... oh well. It's not the first time it's happened. As a good friend of mine once said to me (jokingly): "It's OK if you don't like me. Nobody does (lol)".
My thoughts on the subject, such as they are ... (told you it was a rough topic for me).
cdn guy | |
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| Age Appropriate Behavior
Posted: 6/22/2007 11:17:51 AM | Believe it or not... I got called a Cougar for going to a Def Leppard concert.
WTH??? | |
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| Age Appropriate Behavior
Posted: 6/22/2007 11:29:06 AM | I am having a hard time with this one. I act as I act. period! I have no idea what a person my age is supose to act like. I think that having a mold for certain ages is ridiculous. Everyone acts differently, no matter what their age is...heck, ya can get 22 year olds with an old soul.....and vice versa.
I listen to the new music (and loud), rollerblade, ride my bike, dance at times where there is no dance floor, laugh and giggle, make fun of things / people, sleep in, and the list goes on and on.
At times my body feels like it is 100 yrs old (when the arthritis acts up) but I try to ignore it cause I am a fighter and will not give in.
Anyhow, this leads to another question - is it age appropriate to have / want sex at our age? or is that passe' ?
This forum is a hard one to answer.........MT | |
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| Age Appropriate Behavior
Posted: 6/22/2007 11:38:50 AM | I do what feels right for me and don't worry if it's "age appropriate." (And I rely on my daughter to warn me away from dressing in "old lady" clothes )
The thing that bothers me more than age "inappropriate" behavior is someone acting too much like what they think is expected of their age. I've met a lot of genuinely nice men in my age range who I felt would be better as a father (or grandfather) figure to me than as a lover. It's like all the youth has gone out of them and they're on the downhill slide to old age while still in their 50's. It's as if they've spent all their energy and enthusiasm for life a while back and are now just looking for a comfortable resting place until time comes for their final one. | |
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| Age Appropriate Behavior
Posted: 6/22/2007 12:22:30 PM | Age inappropriate behaviors seem to me to be those that are inappropriate at any age, but are more understandable (if not excusable) because of the inexperience, indiscretion and vigor of youth.
Weekly drunks, chasing tail, casual belligerence, etc- things most men indulge at one point or another.
Over time, most men realize the futility, pointlessness and destruction of these behaviors . One has to question the intelligence and mental health of a middle aged man still pursuing them.
The mid life crisis of buying the Harley or red sports car or starting an expensive new hobby is often the result when a man, at the peak of his earning power ,with his children grown, finds himself with money not earmarked for other purposes. More power to him.
Hey, I'd try to break dance if I wasn't sure I'd end up broken! | |
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| Age Appropriate Behavior
Posted: 6/22/2007 12:45:57 PM | If it feels good, breaks no laws and puts nobody else in danger.....Go for it....
Now excuse me, back to spinning around and around till I get so dizzy I fall down... | |
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| Age Appropriate Behavior
Posted: 6/22/2007 12:53:03 PM | Tried a friend's kid's skateboard the other day ... what can I say ?!? ... the driveway was paved, sloping to the road, no one around (really) and that skateboard was just hollering: "Try me. Try me."
I expect the scuff on my knee will take a while to heal that I got when the 'board' reached the little 'lip' in the pavement where the driveway met the road. Stupid skateboards, anyway !!
cdn guy | |
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| Age Appropriate Behavior
Posted: 6/22/2007 12:54:42 PM | I don't dance on tabletops any more ...
But it's only because if I fell I might break my hip. | |
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| Age Appropriate Behavior
Posted: 6/22/2007 1:02:27 PM | When I was a kid i skateboarded all the time. Absolutely loved it. A couple of years back i was getting very envious of the kids in the skateboard park. yeah I got on one again. I don't remember concrete being that hard when I was 14? I guess age does limit some things.
Anybody up for white water kayaking? | |
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| Age Appropriate Behavior
Posted: 6/22/2007 1:06:09 PM | | Isn't chasing tail one of the reasons we are here? i'll chase tail right up untill the day the tail catches me. Once caught no need to chase any more tail. | |
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| Age Appropriate Behavior
Posted: 6/22/2007 1:07:49 PM | Any time I've tried kayaking, I've ended up upside-down in the water with a boat stuck to my butt -- most embarassing.
cdn guy | |
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bayrab
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Joined: 5/16/2007
Msg: 25 | |
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