No one can speak on the truths about aging quite like Boomers (those born 1946 to 1964) or Gen X (those born 1965 to 1980). With years of life under their belt, they possess rare wisdom and insight into what it’s like to really get old.
Over on Reddit, user @Knightress04 posed the following question to Boomers and Gen Xers on the hilariously named /AskOldPeople channel: “What’s something about aging that no one warned you about, but you wish they had?”
The responses did not hold back. Gen Xers and Boomers opened up about their firsthand experiences and let their opinions flow. These are the best responses to the warning signs about aging from Gen Xers and Boomers, including the good, the bad, and the ugly:
The losses nobody warns you about
“The slow loss of everything, your abilities, your health, your friends, relatives, places you loved, etc. Just the eroding away of everything.” – @BreadfruitOk6160
“All the loss you endure.” – @southerndude42
“Death, there are fewer & fewer people that know who you really are & where you came from. I’ve these parts of my life I shared with friends, & they’re dead now. It’s a strange feeling, when I’m gone it’ll be like those moments never happened. The loss of shared experiences, I guess. It’s nothing terribly important, or even very impactful, it’s just slightly sad.” – @Inside_Ad_7162
“The invisibility.” – @TimeSurround5715
What your body starts doing
“Aches and pains don’t go away in a day. Sometimes it takes a week.” –@OscarTravolta
“It’s so much harder to gain muscle once you age.” – @GroundAndSound
“That eventually you will end up in that CVS aisle you always skipped because it didn’t pertain to you.” – @IntentionAromatic523
“All the napping! I’ve never needed so many naps…” – @Familiar_Collar_78
“As a male. The crazy ear and nose hairs that grow.” – @Mikethemechanic00
Time hits differently now
“How fast time goes by. I was 21 yesterday. Now I’m 69. Time went by way too quickly.” – @Dry-Cause2061
“How precious time will feel. Every moment matters to me now and I have no patience for squandering it. I consider myself very laid back but if there is anything that will trigger me, it’s someone wasting my time. Feels like they’re stealing my most precious resource.” – @PicoRascar
“Start appreciating the smallest things… like a quiet morning, or when a friend texts u a meme outta nowhere. those tiny moments hit diff now.” – @quietswoon
The upsides nobody talks about
“Late sixties. ….something about aging no one warned about? sounds like it’s gotta be something bad. I wasn’t warned about how independent, footloose and fancy free I’d feel once all work and family commitments and obligations were fulfilled. And I can be cantankerous whenever I wanna be. Most folks get warned about long term health consequences but it is difficult to overcome the insidious long-term ill-health consequences of commercial, corporate, processed, fast food pressures and convenience. way too much is spent on consequences of poor health and not enough on prevention and education — imho.” – @Buzzhoops
“I wish they had warned me that it’s OKAY ‘not to do anything’ when you retire. My husband and I have been retired about two years now, and it’s been wonderful. But we’re not jetting around the world. We are just relaxing, enjoying being home. And that’s okay, it doesn’t mean we have a worse life now.” – @slenderella148
“Menopause. I knew so little about it beyond hot flashes, but what absolutely NOBODY told me was: after 40+ years of mostly painful, heavy periods, it is a GLORIOUS feeling not to have a period anymore. I especially love the freedom of being able to travel without having to calculate whether I’d need to pack extra products and underwear. (Thank God my agony came pretty much like clockwork every 28 days.).” – @Technical-Bit-4801
Feelings, savings, and nostalgia
“The sensitivity. I have always been a very sensitive person who feels things deeply. But I’m also GenX so calloused, but lord a mercy if middle-age hasn’t turned me into a crybaby. I swear I never used to cry so much.” – @earthgarden
“That regularly putting money into savings or a retirement account is as important as brushing your teeth every day.” – @InternalAcrobatic216
“When you hear a song or band from your youth that you absolutely hated because they were so cheesy and god-awful bad, but now when you hear it.. it brings back smiles and memories…. that’s the cleansing power of Nostalgia!” – @Hillman314
Getting older has its surprises
Read together, these answers make aging sound less like a warning label and more like a mixed bag. There’s real grief in the loss of people and places, the aches that linger, and the feeling that time is speeding up. But there’s also the freedom to do absolutely nothing, to be cantankerous whenever you want, and to finally appreciate a quiet morning. Maybe the most honest takeaway is that getting older will hand you plenty of surprises, and some of them are good ones.
This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.
