Do You Feel Like Your Actual Age?

One aspect of reaching a certain age is noticing how you feel on any given day. For me, it can be all over the board. It’s somewhat amusing to wake up and wonder how your body is going to feel that day.

God save your soul if you sleep with the wrong amount of pillows or fall asleep in an awkward position. I’ve noticed that any deviation from my typical setup at night can lead to some morning pain. It’s not something I care to tempt fate over.

I used to suffer from chronic back pain until earlier this year. I have put a lot of mileage on my lower back from about a decade of doing carpet cleaning full time. That was rough. I’ve also figured out that using a thick memory foam topper on our bed that didn’t balance my body weight each night didn’t do me any favors either.

Since cutting way back on the number of carpet cleaning jobs I do each month and getting rid of the memory foam topper, my lower back has been tons better. It’s rare that I feel any back pain most days, and this is quite a welcome change from living with it the majority of the time.

Part of feeling your age or not has to do with your mental state. Most days, I feel far younger than being less than a month away from age 48. Ask my Bride and our kids if I act and joke around more like a teenager rather than a boomer. They will tell you that I’m goofy as hell most of the time. I’m sure you all are shocked by this. &:^)

However, if I am stressed about something, or having a difficult time with my writing on a certain day, I definitely feel closer to my actual age. I try my best to put aside any cranky feelings, but I do allow myself to feel the way I feel in the moment. We’re only human, we’re bound to have our ups and downs.

I judge the way I feel though usually by my physical ups and downs. Mainly downs. Perhaps I’m being a bit too negative, judging how old I feel when I’m feeling poorly. Such is life, humans tend to be a bit on the negative side quite often.

At least I do have some positives going for me. I’m not bald. Either by choice or by fate. I’m the opposite of that. I might have half brown and half grey hair at this point, but that’s ok with me. At least I have kind of cool hair.

I used to worry a bit about my higher-than-average forehead and hairline. I wondered if this was going to lead to premature balding. However, after researching this phenomenon in my mother’s old photo albums, I can with certainty tell you that I’ve always had this hairline. Even as a teenager.

Until Covid first reared its ugly head in 2020, I always had a professional type of hairstyle. I’d go in for a haircut every 3 1/2 to 4 weeks, without fail. I felt I needed to look clean-cut for my real estate and carpet cleaning clients. I likely went a little overboard with the daily shaving and frequent haircuts.

Here’s a fun little piece I wrote when I was struggling with knowing when to cut my hair. It had been about two years at this point. There were some “before” pics when I had shorter hair as well as many more as it was growing out. I laughed when I reread this blog:

Once we were in lockdown and I couldn’t go out to get a haircut, I tried to grow it out for the first time. I would use our clippers on the sides and back to keep it nice and short, but the top started growing out and it soon reached the point of being able to be pulled back. I’d keep it up and it would look professional, then I’d let it down when I was chilling. It’s nice to have both options.

Another positive I’ll give myself is not having wrinkles yet. At least as far as I can tell. I’ve never been a smoker, which I know can contribute to wrinkling. I’ve always been careful about using sunscreen when out in the great outdoors. Maybe being a little overweight keeps my big head stretched out more so, thus preventing wrinkles? It’s just a theory I have.

The last positive thing I can think of that helps me feel younger is my build. I spent four or five days a week in the gym most weeks from ages 19 to about 40. About twenty years worth of lifting weights and doing cardio just about every time I’d go. I hope that helped give me a jumpstart to a healthier middle age.

However, I usually eat like a heathen. I do not make healthy choices when I cook. There are no low-fat, non-gluten options on the menu here at La Casa Del Provencio. You’d be lucky to be served a vegetable or a side salad along with what is likely going to be a pasta dish. I know I could have lower cholesterol or less body fat with a sensible diet. Meh.

It is something I’d consider, though. I’m not getting any younger. As my trips to the gym have reduced in frequency over the past 7 or 8 years, I notice that the aches and pains seem to be more frequent. Perhaps it’s true: If you don’t use it, you lose it.

So I try to get back to the gym each week. I’m usually good at getting the first workout in on Mondays. Then I’m so damn sore from waiting so long between workouts, that I wait a few days to get the second workout in. Then my legs are so sore from THAT one, I miss a few more days of working out. See the pattern here?

Some weeks are busier than others. I might have a few carpet cleaning jobs during a busier week and that stops me from going to the gym due to the physical nature of the jobs. So I can easily miss a couple of weeks of gym time because of doing carpet cleaning jobs and focusing on my writing. Then back to the gym, but more soreness after. Repeat.

Without regularity and consistency regarding my gym attendance, the way I feel physically goes downhill. It’s harder to get out of bed or up and down from the couch when you’re not in your best shape. I’m far more likely to pull a muscle either on the job or doing something silly at home when I’m not consistently working out. I once pulled my lower back putting my drawers on.

As my 48th birthday approaches in a few weeks, I feel pretty good. I know I could be doing better physically, yet I know that far more people my age suffer physically much more than I do. I don’t feel too bad about my appearance though I know I could stand to lose a few pounds by being more consistent about my gym attendance.

Mentally, I’m much further ahead. Though the state of the world often sets me off on a pretty angry rant and I’m very unkind to racist, homophobic bigots, I’m generally in a great mood beyond that. I love writing. I’m fortunate to be able to do it full-time, and I certainly enjoy all of my friends here that I’ve made on Medium.

Being able to do what you love for a living and growing with it as a person is a wonderful feeling. After writing over 250 blogs, I’m really in touch with who I am at age 48, what I stand for, and where I’m heading as I’m moving forward to 50. I want to keep writing and do as much as possible to make people smile, laugh, or think.

I enjoy my Bride and my kids daily. Living with them and having so much fun as we do truly helps me feel younger than the age I currently am. We laugh, joke, tease, and discuss our lives and the current state of the world constantly. If I didn’t live with the wonderful family I have, I doubt I’d feel as happy and fulfilled as I do.

Tell us how you feel physically and mentally. What is your actual age, and what age do you FEEL like, overall? How have things changed since you were a teenager, in your 30s, or now that you’re a senior citizen? I want to hear all the stories.

For many people, age is only a number and not an automatic indicator of your quality of life. I hope all of you are feeling wonderfully physically, psychologically, and emotionally. Let’s make the best of what this life offers us at the varying stages we’re currently at. &:^)