You know when you walk into a room and immediately forget what you went in there for? Whenever that's happened to me, I've joked that it's a sign that I'm getting "old." (When in fact, it's a common thing that happens to everyone.)
But few things made me feel old until I went to a party a few years ago with a friend and realized I was surrounded by people who were in their early 20s... and with whom I had absolutely nothing in common. It was a painful experience.
People told us all about their own experiences after Redditor Valient asked the online community,
"What was your "sh*t, I'm getting old" moment?"
"I watched as she scanned..."
"Wore a mask in the grocery store so the cashier couldn't see my entire face. I watched as she scanned the bar code on the register for Senior Discount. I'm 38. I didn't say a word."
Might as well take advantage. They're certainly not going to tell you to take off your mask, are they?
"I said in one of the meetings..."
"I said in one of the meetings during lockdown, "It feels like Groundhog Day" and no one understood the reference."
That's a shame, because that's a great movie that's very much worth watching. Bill Murray was on fire.
"I was in a book club..."
"I was in a book club at work with some of my colleagues and 9/11 came up. One of the girls said, "Oh I remember reading about that in history class!"
I feel this in my soul. To know that kids born in 2001 have already graduated from high school is wild to me.
"When I realized..."
"When I realized I get excited over things like buying new soap for the house."
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"One of the younger people..."
"One of the younger people I play video games with tried to insult me and said, "I bet the GameCube was the first console you played on." It is, in fact, not. It was the N64."
That and the Super Nintendo for me. Guess we can be old together.
"When I went back..."
"When I went back to my college town to party with my friends like old times and everyone in the bar looked like a child."
"My college town..."
"My college town had a bar with the reputation for "cougars." Imagine my surprise to realize upon visiting again in my mid-thirties that the "cougars" were twenty-six-year-old grad students!"
That's what counts as a cougar these days? Samantha from Sex in the City is SCREAMING.
"I woke up in a dead panic..."
"I woke up in a dead panic yesterday after the most horrific nightmare. I dreamed my heat pump went out. My old, unimaginative, boring unconscious brain is absolutely terrified of losing air conditioning and having to pay to get it fixed. I feel old."
"I remember having no problems..."
"Father-in-law and I did our shingles on my roof 12 years ago and this past year I went to grab two bundles and sling them over my shoulder and my body said no. I remember having no problems then but I guess I'm older now."
"I tripped on the sidewalk a few days ago, and everyone came running over asking if I was okay. Like they were really worried."
Our apologies if you felt personally attacked by any of these stories. Would you like some help applying for Social Security benefits before they run out? Might be worth your while.
Have some stories of your own? Feel free to tell us about them in the comments below!
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J. Crew
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