Comments on: Make New Friends, Make Better Plans?

By: Stephanie - Wasabimon

Stephanie - Wasabimon — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 05:24:49 +0000

Wow, that was a downer of a comment. Sorry!

By: Stephanie - Wasabimon

Stephanie - Wasabimon — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 05:24:27 +0000

It makes me sad when people don’t give others the leeway they once took themselves. Of course younger generation are inexperienced; it’s the clear mark of youth. Do people forget their own earlier years so easily?
Being only in my 30s, I can only nostalgically look back on my teens, which, sadly, were terrible. I don’t miss my younger years at all – I’m quite glad they’re over.
That said, my 20s weren’t so great either. Sure, I had fun, but that decade was a painful mash of tough experiences that ended in a bad marriage and a cornucopia of health problems. It leaves me wondering if I’ll ever have a period of my life that I’ll look back on fondly.

By: sarah henry

sarah henry — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 03:53:41 +0000

This post reminds me of something my peers and I — a bunch of 40somethings moving through mid-life, some with ease, others of us with the grace of an elephant — have gotten to marveling at. Namely, the confidence of women in their 20s and 3os whom we’re bumping into at job interviews or as editors/bosses or colleagues or at conferences.
We wonder: Were we ever that self-assured? Somehow the older (and, yes, wiser) I get the less certain I am that I have all (or even most) of the answers to the vexing questions of life.

By: Chris H

Chris H — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 05:25:32 +0000

Great article and discussion! I was about to tear into Melanie – then I saw the reference! Way to make the point! As to making friends younger & older, like most of you here, I care only for how I connect with another human. My boyfriend is 17 years my senior. We just had dinner with a friend of his who’s half my age. My best friend 13 years my junior. That’s a lot of math! As to the plan for the end, keep your body healthy, your mind sharp, and attitude positive, and with a bit of grace you’ll die peacefully at a ripe old age, making it a mute point. By thinking, interacting, and writing like this Ruth, I think you’re a good way there! God Bless!

By: Meredith

Meredith — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 23:22:44 +0000

Isn’t it really about who you connect with? Also, do you think it’s a myth that older is wiser? I would say it can be true–at times…but as a blanket statement it kind of falls flat. Then again, I know lots of younger people who are not as vibrant as older people because the older people have had time to work through their “stuff” (and have worked through it) while the younger set is still bogged down.

By: Jesaka Long

Jesaka Long — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:23:29 +0000

My 83-year-old aunt recently moved from a small town in Texas to Portland, Oregon and she is loving it. She has set a great example for me that it’s never too late to make changes in your life and try new adventures. We’ve developed a strong pen-pal exchange (email) and, especially since I lived in Seattle for many years, are having so much fun exchanges tales of the Northwest.

By: Winston

Winston — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:02:59 +0000

Anne Gibert–
Dementia didn’t catch up with your mom until 95? Wow! What longevity. What a great track record! And writing, painting and taking DVD courses stimulate brain cells and is good preventive medicine against dementia. And remember, should any form of dementia creep up on you waaaay down the road, trust your smart daughter and her brother will know how to best hold your hand and walk you through it.

By: Winston

Winston — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:29:53 +0000

I have friends and acquaintances of various ages. When viewed from a distance among themselves, I can see why others of my generation say the young are going to hell in a handbasket. Such thoughts graze my mind as well. When teaching the very young (3 to 5) I always remembered the rule: don’t talk down to them. I am always surprised this works so well with those in their 20′s and 30′s too. I get addressed as Sir or Mr. Winston, voluntarily. Some say I’m cooler than their parents, yet I don’t do or say much of anything “youthful” or “cool.” It’s just a matter plying the younger ones with respect while mentally taking them by hand and dragging them upwards towards my level of wisdom. Ha! there’s not even any kicking and screaming either! And, yes, I say I’m wise. Wisdom has a lot less to do with book-learning than the fact that I’ve already been there, done that, and figured out how to live through it– at least up until this point in time. Wisdom is in the eye of the beholder. Of course a sudden unprovoked turn of a cartwheel down the hallway can work magic on the youth of today as well. A sixty year old man with full, longish white beard flapping in the breeze is a sight! Shhhhhhh! Don’t tell anyone but lately my chest tightens at the fear one or more of my joints may give way at the crucial point of a cartwheel and– splaaaaat! Oh well, maybe one of those wicked, youthful things looming over my twisted body will extend a helping hand and climb one step closer to wisdom.

By: Anne Gibert

Anne Gibert — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:21:54 +0000

When I was in my 20′s life was pretty grim. I had a terrible marriage, no marketable skills and 3 little children. No way I’d go back to that predicament. These days all young people (except for my adorable grandchildren) look alike. My young friends are your age, Ruth.
I fear dementia. My mother did fine until about 95, then she began to slip mentally. Before that she was the smartest person I ever knew, until my daughter and her brother came along. I am more scared of dementia than of cancer or other diseases of the body.
At the moment my brain seems to be working reasonably well, and it’s a very nice day. The weather is lovely and there isn’t anything pressing to do, so I shall write a bit and paint a bit and water my flowers and vegetables, drink wine with Jerry and cook a chicken, walk with Jerry and the poodles in the evening, watch our DVD course on the Vikings and go to bed. Today is clean sheet day.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:08:11 +0000

My generation was never really given a title–I came just after the Gen Xers. Frankly, I find life gets more and more interesting as I get older. It’s almost surreal to have all of this experience to draw on and I’m looking forward to gaining more. That said, it makes me listen just a little bit more when I hear those with more experience, yup, folks who are older than I am, offer me a bit of advice.