Our bodies change as we get older, but that's not all.
Even though we all know it's inevitable, aging has a way of sneaking up on us, and often in ways we don't expect. The best people to speak on the truths about aging, of course, are Boomers (those born 1946 to 1964) and Gen Xers (those born 1965 to 1980). With decades of life under their belt, these folks possess wisdom and insight into what it's actually like to grow old that they can share with younger generations.
A Reddit user 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?" Folks did not hold back. Gen Xers and Boomers opened up about their first-hand experiences and let their good, bad, and ugly experiences fly.
Aging comes with ups and downs.Photo credit: Canva
Here are the best responses to the warning signs about aging from Gen Xers and Boomers:
"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
"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
You may want to just chill at home, and that's okay.Photo credit: Canva
"The invisibility." —@TimeSurround5715
"Aches and pains don’t go away in a day. Sometimes it takes a week." —@OscarTravolta
"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
"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
"How fast time goes by. I was 21 yesterday. Now I'm 69. Time went by way to quickly." —@Dry-Cause2061
There's a freedom that comes with getting older, too.Photo credit: Canva
"That I would feel this great. And content. And so much more in love with my SO, decade after decade. That there would be as much joy in walking fast laps as there was in running full court basketball. That for all the travail I've had a wonderful life. That it would become so easy to understand Robinson Jeffers:"
Still the mind smiles at its own rebellions,
Knowing all the while that civilization and the other evils
That make humanity ridiculous, remain
Beautiful in the whole fabric, excesses that balance each other
Like the paired wings of a flying bird."
—@Own-Animator-7526
"All the napping! I've never needed so many naps..." —@Familiar_Collar_78
"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
"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
Aging also come with loss. Photo credit: Canva
"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
"As a male. The crazy ear and nose hairs that grow." —@Mikethemechanic00
"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
"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
It's easy to forget that growing old is a privilege, one that comes with both upsides and downsides. Knowing what's coming might be helpful, but time will tell if it's something we can ever truly prepare for.
This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.