THE Questions....

Thank you so much for playing along! I so enjoyed reading your comments and thoughts. You can still play!

I found it interesting that most of you thought kids made you feel old and young at the same time!! I understand. My girls overwhelm me and make me tired, but they also get me to do really fun things and challenge me to see the world through their young fresh eyes. (It's what my college students do for me, too.)

I also found it interesting, it seems, if you have a spouse/significant other who is older, they seem to make you feel young. MWH is 4 years and 10 months older (but who's counting?) than me, but I rarely think of him as older than me... I do think of him as more mature because he takes care of all the bills, washes dishes and is MWH.... I often feel irresponsible, but then he points out that I keep the girls clothed and cared for medically, as well as insuring our whole family eats and eats well. He says I'm not irresponsible, but that we're differently responsible. I agree--it's what makes us a good team. Okay, Here I go...

My answers



1. What makes you feel young?

Bouncing, doing cartwheels, doing handstands, doing the splits, playing tickle with my girls, laughing with MWH, thinking, scheming...



2. What makes you feel old?

My gray hair. Yesterday, I spent a couple of hours having it made dark again. My hair grows really fast, so my gray starts showing quickly. Sigh.

I also feel old when I'm tired... My skin looks tired and feels old. Did I tell you about the time I saw some make-up that said it was an "illuminating anti-fatigue foundation?" I don't wear foundation, but I bought it anyway. I was pretty exhausted that day and figured it might help. It's actually a very light foundation/moisturizer and I kind of like it. (Good impulse purchase.)

When my back hurts, I feel old. In general, I've learned if I do sit-ups every day, and if I ice when my back hurts (and even when it doesn't), it doesn't feel too bad. I gave up on Western Medicine helping me and my back. I take ibuprofen only when it's really bad. The last few months, I've had a lot of headaches so I've taken more ibuprofen than I like taking. (Headaches make me feel old too.) The headaches are from the stress of our nanny leaving, my friend dying, and me doing too much.




3. In general, do you feel young or old?

In general, I feel young. At times, I'm tired, but I know I do a lot, and I don't blame feeling tired on age. I think it's important to do a lot because I think it keeps you feeling younger (when you're not exhausted!). I'm a firm believer in working hard, both mentally and physically. I believe if you don't use it, you lose it.

I can always tell when I am learning ... It does actually hurt a bit, but it feels good in general. It's the same way with my muscles... When I'm working out a lot, they get sore, but I like it... It means they are getting stronger. (Do I sound like a dork or what?)



4. At what age do you think you'll feel old?

I hope, never. Jack Lalanne is my new idol. This year, I have lots of plans for increasing what I do physically (work-outs), and I plan to continue to learn new things. I also hope I can manage to slow down a little, but we all know how good I am at doing that. (HAHAHAHA--I believe LMAO is appropriate here.)

I do believe there are things we can do to keep ourselves feeling young, and I intend to do them. In my copious spare time, I'll be reading all I can about anti-aging... I don't feel old yet, and I want to keep it that way. Definitely expect more on this topic in the future... (I even started a new category on the blog... A-G-E.)



5. How old are you?

I am 38, and I am a little freaked by the number 39. When I turned 29, it freaked me a little too. I was fine with 30. I am imagining the same thing is happening again.

Okay, must end this post... I ALMOST forgot we have tickets for a show today. K (3.5) reminded MWH of today's event. (Should I be embarrassed that my 3.5-year-old remembers our plans better than I remember them?) It's family-of-five-fun time now!