sign of aging ?

larry@stinescorners · Jan 21, 2013

I used to be able to work all day,and do side jobs after work,I used to cut my lawn and a lawn that I got paid to cut down the street,cut both of them after work.Now at 58 years old,I can still work,but at the end if a day I am tired out,. Not much going on today,so I made the crockpot stew,read some and going to clean up the house some,I think about how hard my dad worked,and am ashamed of taking a day and goofing off,Also know how hard farmers work,never getting a break.I am slowing down in my old age ,it started at around 50 and each year I notice it more.

rrlund · Jan 21, 2013

I know what'cha mean Larry. If I still had those dairy cattle around,I'd be dead by now. No way I could have kept up that pace seven days a week.

pete black · Jan 21, 2013

i used to run out of daylight before i ran out of energy, now at age 66 i run out of energy before i run out of daylight. used to bother me some but rationalized that in the winter goofing off (relaxing) is ok. come warmer weather i will work as hard or as long as i want to, not have to.

RLA · Jan 21, 2013

I usta.....

Run a chain saw all day, never stop. Now I
run a tank full threw the saw, then pick up
the brush & throw some of the wood either on
a pile or the wood wagon, then I find the
stump for a 10 minute break. Then start the
process again.. Maybe the next break requires
10 minute's Plus & a long drink of water..
& after that load wood & call it a day....
This too started after 50...

LeoinMI · Jan 21, 2013

I know how you feel. I am 61 yr.old and have slowed down alot. I was out shoveling some snow this morning and did not get so tired as I was cold. Seems the cold gets to me more as I grow older. Probably has to do with all the surgeries I have had over the years. At any rate it is a bummer getting old.

McBride · Jan 21, 2013

People that can't read to well and post anything on a tractor theme forum.

LAA · Jan 21, 2013

There are some advantages though, I work smarter now then I used to, no romping and stomping, get the right tools for the job, go home and eat lunch with my Wife, come home at or before dark.

Tony in Mass. · Jan 21, 2013

I quit feeling young by the time I was 20, seeing no point in it. 30 years later, there is even less incentive to act young.

Dave I Love My H · Jan 21, 2013

Hi Larry!
50's, especially the more advanced 50's are humbling. We just get to a point where our bodies say stop now, not 5 minutes from now; now.
50's are a good time too. When I stop a job because I just have to stop now, I have the experience to know that it will be waiting for me when I'm ready. And that might be a day or two later. We learn how to slice up those projects into smaller segments that we can handle without too much personal damage. I've lost a lot of guilt too. I pick and choose extra projects, give up some extra money along the way. I would never turn down work when I was younger. I wouldn't even think of passing a buck. Now I enjoy a little more, sit a little more, and still take on reasonable physical projects so I can still be a man to my family and for myself.
Dave

rrlund · Jan 21, 2013

I used to be a mover and a shaker,now I'm a waddler and jiggler.

Fawteen · Jan 21, 2013

Hah! Ain't that the truth?

I'm stealing that, just so you'll know.

Fawteen · Jan 21, 2013

Does it hurt having that stick up there?

ShadetreeRet · Jan 21, 2013

Double R, I like that! Describes me just about perfectly!

Goose · Jan 21, 2013

Dunno, I'm 78 and still working full time, same as ever. Frankly, I don't feel any different or look at myself any differently than I did 40 years ago.

Have noticed it's easier to fall asleep in my recliner watching TV in the evening, but that might be the programming on TV.

I think a lot of it is mental. People act old because they think they're supposed to act old at a particular age.

When I was about 50, I worked for a boss who was my age, but looked and acted 10-15 years older. Once when our daughter had a roller skating party, I couldn't resist digging out my old skates. During the course of the evening, I wiped out intentionally to keep from hitting a little kid who tumbled in front of me and sprained my wrist.

when I mentioned it to my boss the next day, he said I should have been acting my age and not been on roller skates in the first place. I think he looked and acted as old as he did because he SAW himself as old.

gmccool · Jan 21, 2013

Larry
I know what you are saying about slowing down when you turn 50. When I was young there weren't enough hours in a day. I worked hard & I mean real hard ALL THE TIME. My Mom told me I would slow down when I turn 50. Well she was right. I am 58 now & a 9 - 10 hour day is enough for me now. I do seem to work smarter now than when I was younger. I did a FIRST for me the other day. I went to a friends place & he had a crew hired to pour a floor in his new shop & I grabed a five gallon bucket & sat & watched. That was a first for me & I can't even guess how many yards of cement I have poured in my lifetime. I guess I have reached a threshold in my life where I can say it is OK to let the younger ones do some of this work. I also laugh to myself & say they will get old to someday. But on the other hand it amazes me how I can still work cicles around some of these young guys. I can thank my Dad for the work ethics that I have today. It made me what I am. Gerald

ShadetreeRet · Jan 21, 2013

Larry, In today's push-n-shove world, the pace most folks have to go at and the everyday stress, everyone needs a day off now and then just to unwind. Like yourself, I used to go full tilt, come home from work and stay in the garden till it was so dark I couldn't see. Help the wife can veggies 'till 12 or 1 o'clock and get up at 5 and go to work. I really started slowing down at about 60. We just have to adjust our thinking to accept these things, and I know it ain't easy. Now at 74 I can still do a good days work, it just takes me about all WEEK to do it!

ShadetreeRet · Jan 21, 2013

And your point is--?

pat sublett · Jan 21, 2013

I am 78, work hard every day but, have learned to take a short nap after lunch. Sometime it is not too short.

oliver fan · Jan 21, 2013

When the old bull and the young bull were standing on a hill overlooking a herd of cows. The young bull wanted to run down the hill and the old bull wanted to walk down. Now you know why.

Larry NEIL · Jan 21, 2013

Ya know when yer gettin old when yer shot bag gits longer than yer rifle!

McBride · Jan 21, 2013

Wow!!! Make a little joke some of you guys get your shorts all in a bind.
Must be a sign of aging.
Grumpy old men.
Nice talk by the way.

Drill · Jan 21, 2013

(quoted from post at 11:22:20 01/21/13) I used to be a mover and a shaker,now I'm a waddler and jiggler.

I'm still a mover and shaker, only problem is now whenever I move the whole house shakes> :lol: :lol:

Fawteen · Jan 21, 2013

Thank you. I try.

Red1 · Jan 21, 2013

61 and yeah noticing it...Started to consider putting up a few electric wenches, on tracks, in the roof rafters..to lift the odd 50 - 80 pound load into the back of the pickup..

I think the best a person can do is notice where the aging is taking place and prepare...stuff stored up high, bring it down lower. Take rest breaks during physical exertion..shoveling..etc...

And don't be afraid to kick back a few minutes after lunch...10 15 minutes of zzz sets the afternoon work in a more positive attitude..

Dave in GA · Jan 21, 2013

I think some of it is due to age, but other factors could be contributing also. Diet and nutrition and weight have an effect, and health in general. Some foods make you tired and slow you down. Others can energize. Do you take vitamins every day? This can make a difference for some folks. I drink an ounce of a vitamin/mineral supplement a day, but sometimes I forget for a few days, and I'll start to feel run down in a hurry. About a year ago, I swore off Coke and other pops with caffeine. My energy level took a dive, but I needed to get off the stuff. Also, if I were to lose 20-30 pounds, I'll bet my energy level would skyrocket. These are all factors which can be controlled.

The winter season has something to do with feeling old also. This time of year, with less daylight and cold temps outside, it's harder to do all the active stuff outside. And after pigging out for Thanksgiving and Christmas, who wants to do anything but lay around anyway?

Russel AZ · Jan 21, 2013

consider a weakening heart or one that isn't getting enough oxygen, consider sleep apnea, and adult onset diabetes.

Get checked out, don't want you getting sick.

Hay hay hay · Jan 21, 2013

I understand now that I have reached retirement age, why people used to retire or at least slow down and cut back even before there was a specific legal retirement age. Most everyone of my friends in my age group has slowed down a lot.

I still work some everyday (wife calls it fiddling) mowing, making a little hay, raising and training some horses. But work days are shorter and the naps longer. Just natures way I guess.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 21, 2013

I highly resemble that remark

Dick L · Jan 21, 2013

At 74 I am starting to feel a little like that. I get home after work with plans to work on a project in the shed. Set down to eat my snack and fall asleep. Wake up in time to do chores and eat supper. After supper I need another nap. Wake up thinking It is to late to get stuff out to work on a project so watch TV and take another nap. Wake up and find it is time to go to bed.
I did go out after dark last night and measure up a horse for a collar pad and get it cut out.

retired farmer · Jan 21, 2013

What's the matter with you old guys? I am still working as hard as I did when I was in my twenties-----only problem is, I am only getting half as much done.

Mike (WA) · Jan 21, 2013

I think everyone feels it.

Not getting political, but this is one of the big problems with trying to reform the Social Security system- the only obvious way is to raise the "normal" retirement age. Its up to 66 now, and I think scheduled to continue to go up gradually.

That may be fine for office jockeys like me, but how about you guys doing physical work? You'll get laid off when you can no longer "cut the mustard", usually long before you hit 66, and then what does the guvment suggest that you do?

My dad quit the carpenters union when he was in his 40's (in the mid 1960's)- they had a carpenter's pension plan, but you could only draw it if you worked until you were 65, and very few were able to do that, so lost their pension. Great loophole, huh? This was at the time of a "building boom" in our area, and most of the home builders went non-union, because plenty of good carpenters had quit the union and were available.

Vito · Jan 21, 2013

Hit 49 this year and I am starting to feel that way a little bit myself.Not really sure I like it.

Vito

Hay hay hay · Jan 21, 2013

Mike, Great post. That is the kind of big issues that the nation must deal with soon. I agree fully. Desk jobs are totally different from labor jobs and really heavy labor like brick laying or roofing is another issue all together. I rode a desk all my life but still have appreciation for the hard labor folks. We need to get beyond the happy talk and make some real decisions about the future of Social security.

44 massey · Jan 21, 2013

Was told once there are 2 signs of old age: 1 is forgetfulness and 2,,,,,,,,,,, cant remember the second one

Bruce from Can. · Jan 21, 2013

Getting old is a realitive thing. I am the youngest of 5 , and compared to my brothers I still seem like a pup at 52. Still have a 60 cow dairy , and crop 300acres. For how much longer? Who knows, till I get smart or sick. Bruce

rrlund · Jan 21, 2013

I got sick then got smart. Second time I wound up in intensive care,I decided I could sell the cows soon for my price,or the wife could sell them in a big hurry for whatever she could get out of'em after they killed me.

John B. · Jan 21, 2013

I turned 53 on January 9th. Yep I feel it too. I don't farm but grew up on a farm and have a small amount of acreage we own but rent out. I have a steady job which pays the bills and then some. On my 50th birthday I raced my 16 yr old daughter in a 100 meter foot race on the track at school. She beat me by a half of a second. She ran it in 15.7 seconds and I did it in 16.2 seconds. Ran it when I turned 51 and there was a big difference...LOL.
I do feel better if I exercise sometime during the day. At least I know why I ache then...LOL

Bruce from Can. · Jan 21, 2013

I hear you loud and clear lund, but so far "touch wood" I am still healthy enough. I go in to see the saw bones , and get all the over 50 check ups. And get the green light.Still waiting to get smart, they say there is no cure for stupid, but I still like the old dairy cows. Bruce

DoubleR · Jan 21, 2013

I read your post during lunch. Then went out in 8 degree cold to grind feed. It use to be I needed about fifty horse tractor to keep up with me as I shoveled the corn in. Today a 30 hp kubota keep the grinder going as I shoveled, with no problem. I guess I'm not as good as I once was either.

wsmm · Jan 21, 2013

Retired last Jan at 68+. Was in law enforcement for my 3rd or 4th career. Turned 69 last Nov. Can't seem to do as much for as long as I used to. Gets discouraging, but Torn rotater cuff, plus arthritis, and a few other problems I consider myself lucky. Still able to out work a lot of the younger guys. Getting ready to try and find some part time work, but the economy in Mid-Michigan doesn't make it easy. I'm about 45 miles north of Saginaw and jobs here a even harder to find.

RandyB(MI) · Jan 21, 2013

Well Larry, I hear ya. I,m 62+ and my slow down started 5 yrs ago. Had arthur for some time but needed total knee replace at 57 , at 61 torn rotator cuff/bicept surgery and last Sept cervicle spine surgery to unpinch my spinal cord and prevent furthur parrallisis. Still having bad muscle spasms and had to relearn how to walk and tie my shoes etc. Still getting back feeling and use of left arm and hand. Pretty discouraging and life changing event. I,m retiring this Fri from the factory and plan on driving truck/tractors for local farmers in spring and fall and back doing minor body/paint work on antique tractors etc in summer plus my usual tractor/machinery dealing when timming is right. Just hope physically to be able to do these things. This "dead arm" is starting to get me down but they say I won't get it all back for close to a year. Nerves heal very slowly and mine were pinched pretty bad. My mind is still 40 so I will overcome this. Hardest part of growing old is "graciously" letting the younger ones do things for you. In time I will master that too. At our age we should be "teaching" and not so much doing anyway. Make sure your knowlege and skills get passed on , that's more important than doing an 8 hr labor day.

Rick Kr · Jan 21, 2013

Mike,

I too am an office jockey, desk jockey, etc all the names they have for us. That is part of why I got my tree farm going. After sitting for 10 hours I was stir-crazy.
I just read quite an intensive study of office workers. Their sedentary lifestyle half the day is really unhealthy. Overall labors were more healthy than office workers, as the labors maintained activity throughout the day. The summary of the study was office workers need to work out.
Now, the study did not mention the down side of a laborer, as you have. Roofers fall of roofs, etc. As you stated, nobody wants a laborer with racked up body at 50.

Rick

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