Elderly

I’m soon to be 69 and I am certainly not elderly, just older than I used to be!

I am definitely not elderly.

I'm older than that and I'm not 'elderly'! Mind you when my gran was in her 80s she still talked about people she met as "that old woman/man" They were probably younger than her!

Well I am 76 so cannot be called young or middle-aged really. I don't like "elderly" so how about "mature"?

As I'm well over 80 I suppose that is elderly, but I don't feel it.

My neighbour told her doctor off for calling her elderly. She is 92.

Whether or not you consider yourself to be elderly probably depends on how physically active you have been all your life. If you have mostly gone places in cars or on buses then you won't notice when 'elderly' suddenly hits you in your seventies.

If, however, you have always loved to walk or cycle everywhere, and suddenly you find you can't do it anymore, you will be forced to admit to the fact that you have become old. Or - "elderly".

If you have not reached that stage yet, you will.

And you can only kid yourself for so long.

I think it is probably all down to how you feel about yourself and how active you are. Some days I feel like I am still in my 30s, some days I feel like I am around 100!

I recall some years ago talking to the mother of a friend - she said she had to hurry off because she was doing some shopping for the old folks - she was 86 at the time!

79 very soon and I have an " inner " objection at being called elderly. I still do things as I did 20 years ago and don't feel very much different to back then really.

I'm on the go a lot, always have been as I don't drive, so walking is second nature and I've done a lot of that in my time.
Having a good pair of " bellows " helps too ! As is having a variety of good food and cooking it yourself------it keeps you going.

It's in the mind. At 57 I was still teaching and the chatty lady who cleaned my room was telling me that she was having to move as her landlord planned to sell her flat.
She went on to say that she'd applied for a flat in a sheltered complex. Since she was about to turn 55, she thought that was her best option!
That hadn't crossed my mind and still hasn't at 71!

It's in the mind

If only.

It's 75, according to a Registrar (of births, marriages & deaths) who spoke to our local WI group.

When I had my first baby at 28 I was down in my notes as an 'elderly' primigravida! Which only amused me then.

Although I'm 70, I'd certainly be put out if I heard anyone referring to me as 'elderly' now. Rightly or wrongly, to me it conjures up thin, frail, somewhat bent, and walking gingerly with a stick. (A bit like the signs you see by the disabled/elderly/pregnant seats on buses.).
And probably a curly perm and 'old lady' clothes, too.

None of which apply to me so far. (Especially not the 'thin' bit - I'm a couple of sizes bigger than my youthful size 10.)

sheltered housing
Is that sheltered from the wind and rain?

I'm looking at DH and wondering if he should be classed as elderly
He doesn't seem elderly

In the hospital where my dd is training patients aren't admitted to the geriatric ward until they're at least 85yo and even then if they're other use fit, they'll be on a regular ward. So 68 is a spring chicken!

I am prepared to accept 'old' but elderly conjures up frail, and I don't like that.
I too was an elderly primagravida aged twenty-nine.
I remember my parents having the same conversation in their sixties.

I have just turned 70 which does seem a bit of a landmark. However a recent hip replacement has cured all arthritic pain and I feel more energetic than I have for years - so feel younger. Only thing that does hit me is that I no longer run up or down stairs. I think I have a long way to go before I feel elderly.

For goodness sake!! Nobody is elderly until they're at least in their 80s, and most people that age don't think of themselves as elderly.

Nothing annoys me more than the press reporting that something has happened to an elderly person - and then they tell you the person was in their 60s.

I was also an 'elderly' primagravida at 28. I hope they've changed the criteria now that so many women are starting a family later.

Elderly? Just a word. We're officially 'geriatric' at 65 too. What a damned cheek! The language hasn't changed along with our extended lifespans, that's all.

Some people have an old/elderly/geriatric state of mind from quite an early age. Others, like myself, are perpetual 17 year olds, trapped in an 'old' body and stubbornly ignore our age. When I ran for the bus yesterday, I was surprised that I didn't get my breath back until the next stop!

I’m 71, so in number terms I’m old. But... I don’t necessarily feel my age unless I’m poorly or overdone things! Having discussed this with DH, he agrees with me.

You know the sketch in one of David's things satire programmes, with the two Ronnies and 'im from the programme with the awful hotel? I am having trouble this morning with names. I do quite often. Well the sketch is about class.
I look down on them.
I look up to him (taller Ronnie) but I look down on him
I look up to them (small Ronnie.

Well i think elderly is like that. I am younger than her. (little old lady)
I am older than her (younger 60 year old)
I am 74 and swim and do tai chi and walk the dog and go on the treadmill every day. But I was invited to a theatre performance and I refused as I get very uncomfortable sitting in a seat like that. Last time I didn't enjoy the performance. I had to get there. Too long in the seat. Need the loo. It just was not enjoyable. And now I've said no thank you to a few such suggestions I feel like an old woman.

I only go out to visit family, mind grandchildren. One visit to one daughter is increasingly difficult as takes an hour and half to drive there. I get very tired. And Saturday I had to pick up the other daughter on the way and her children and that added 45 minutes each way from me to her. I was in a lot of discomfort. How sad! Such a nice occasion, 3 year old grandson's birthday, but the drive made me very uncomfortable

I was in Tesco's on Saturday and a very elderly lady started chatting about our pensions not going far. I feel that st 67 I am not elderly, but she lumped me in with her. I was quite put out!

In my 80s and definitely NOT elderly, BUT I would like the freedom to leave the party in a painless and legal way when the fun's over and I'm a burden to myself and my family.

I once met an elderly five year old who reported to me, with a frown: Your little boy's socks are the wrong colour! Hope she eventually found some joy in life.