Your Only as Young as You Feel

I don’t like the saying “you are only as old as you feel”. To me this is negative and makes you feel even older. I prefer to say you are only as young as you feel. As I write this it is hard to believe that many of my classmates, and half of my employees, are fourteen to fifteen years younger than me. I don’t feel that much older than them. It’s hard to imagine that I was crossing the stage to accept my high school diploma the same year that they were carrying their kindergarten mat on their first day of school.

When people find out that I have kids many ask me how old they are. I feel strange saying that they are eight and twelve. I don’t feel like my children should be that old. I feel like it was just yesterday that my youngest started to crawl. I have been married for thirteen years. Wow! That is almost the age difference between me and some of my classmates.

I have arthritis in my hands. It is something that runs in my family. We usually start getting it in our teenage years. There are some days when the arthritis is so bad that I can barely hold a pencil in a grip tight enough to write my name on a piece of paper. I have thrown my back out many times and when it happens it causes me to either walk hunched over like an old woman or makes it difficult for me to walk for a couple of days.

Age is just a state of mind. I believe you are as young as you feel. If you feel young inside then it doesn’t really matter what your body says. Everyone should feel young at heart.

My grandma lived her life like this. As kids we would tease my grandma about her age and she would say it is just a number. The only thing it means is that she has had more birthdays than us but she is the same age as us. As a kid I used to think it was a bunch of bull that she would feed us to get us to stop teasing her. Now at the age I am, I am just now realizing how right she was. Until the last six months I never even considered the thought that I was any older than some of my classmates or my employees.

I try to live my life like I’m still young, although maybe a little smarter than I was then. I will never use the excuse I can’t because I’m too old. That is something that my children, and my grandchildren (when I eventually get some – hopefully in a long time) will never hear me say.

Some say the secret to a long life is being active, which again plays a part in my belief. Young adults are the most active. If you feel young inside you will want to do more things and therefore be more active.

I don’t like the people that say “I can’t. I’m too old for that.” You can never be too old to try or do anything.

I believe my job helps keep my young. I get to run around outside playing red light green light, mother may I, and tag. Inside I get to sit on the floor and color, put together puzzles, string beads. In the classroom I get to use my imagination. I can put a hat on and be a construction worker, I can stack blocks up really tall and be an architect, and I can put a dress on and be the world’s best dancer.

My children at home are the same way. At home I can help my son with his martial arts stunts and his shooting aim. I can help my daughter with her cheers and her gymnastics tricks.

With so many opportunities throughout the day for me to feel young it is a wonder if I will ever feel like I am getting old. I hope not. I love feeling like this. I truly believe that you are only as young as you feel.