Do you ever wonder when you stopped feeling young? Maybe you remember the exact moment. Maybe it happened so gradually that you didn’t notice. Or perhaps you are still young enough to believe your knees will never make that noise again.
Des Moines fitness guru LeMar Koethe, who launched 7 Flags Fitness Center in Clive in the early 1990s, used to tell me that age was only a number. Your real age, he said, was determined largely by how well you took care of your body. LeMar was right. At least partially. The body is only one part of the equation. You also have to take care of your mind and soul. But even if you do all three, aging apparently keeps moving forward anyway. It is the one treadmill nobody figures out how to turn off.
Veteran newsman Michael Gartner once told me he was invigorated by working with young people, and that connection is what he misses most in retirement. I understand that. I enjoy working with people younger than me, too. But I have also discovered something that I really enjoy friendships with people older than me. They tend to have accumulated wisdom, stories and the ability to tell me that whatever I am worried about probably isn’t worth worrying about.
Clare Ansberry wrote in The Wall Street Journal several years ago about the age when people stop feeling young. She noted how Millennials were beginning to feel old. According to a study by the Worldwide Independent Network of Market Research, the average age when Americans stop feeling young is 43. Forty-three. That seems awfully young to be surrendering your youth. At 43, I was still making decisions that proved I was young.
Another study, from weight-management company Found, put the age when Americans begin noticing physical signs of aging at 42. Those signs include achy joints and gray hair. So, basically, the body starts sending warning notices before the mind has received the memo.
The people around us also influence how old we feel. I used to often be the youngest person in the room. Not anymore. These days, I look around and realize I am no longer the young guy. I am now the guy who younger people assume knows how to fix something.
The equally interesting question is when we start feeling old. That number, according to the same research, is 52. Well, I have passed 52, as well, which is obvious by my vision and hearing problems. Fortunately, my sense of smell still works just fine. I know this because I truly appreciate the scent of Bengay.
My wife has long been asked by other moms what the best stage of parenting is. Her answer has always been, “The current stage.” That applies to aging, too. There may be a number when we stop feeling young and another when we start feeling old, but I would rather judge my age by the people I enjoy, the things I still want to learn and the number of reasons I can find to laugh.
Happy aging, Millennials. The rest of us will try to keep up.
Have a terrific Tuesday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital newsletter
shane@gctimesnews.com
641-332-2707