Posted in Blogs, Family, Uncategorized, Weight

Revenge of the Nouns

Posted on by D. Parker

1age11As I age (totally gracefully, of course), I notice an ever-growing Pros and Cons List accumulating in my brain.

I’ve also notice one side of the list is getting much longer than the other.

The Pros (or what we gain as we get older):
Experience
Wisdom
Friends
Family
Knowledge
Cynicism
Wrinkles
Habits
Humour
Weight
Hormones
Self-confidence
Happiness
More candles on your birthday cake

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The Cons (or what we lose as we get older):
Keys and other stuff  – although I prefer to think of them as ‘in a safe place’, er, somewhere
Hair – it’s ok, it just migrates to your nose, ears and chin
Friends
Family
Hormones
Elasticity
Happiness
Ability to ignore distractions
Cells and stem cells lose their luster
Self-confidence
The battle with gravity
Nouns – this one is mysterious, you find yourself able to describe the noun in great detail – the thing you wear, in the winter, to keep warm, two sleeves, zippers up…yet somehow in all that, the word ‘coat’ eludes you. It works somewhat better in writing.

Some things make both lists.

Is there anything some of my more ‘age-enabled’ readers have noticed they’ve gained or lost?

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To me, age is just a number, one that we should be proud of as it gets higher, hint, hint, it means we’re still living.

Is it sad that society worships youth? Definitely, age has so much to offer, even more if you can enjoy the distinctive and sometimes amusing parts of aging.

The truth is, we’re all happier or sadder at different points in our lives for different reasons. Enjoy each moment, as many as there are.

I’ve got to go, to watch that show, where the guy asks the questions. You know, you have to answer in a question form. It’s been on a long time. I’m sure I’ll do really well, answering the, you know, thingies.

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Author:

Very me

73 thoughts on “Revenge of the Nouns”

  1. You lose the sense of your own ‘invincibility’ (as in “it couldn’t happen to me”) as you get older and gain a sense of “actually, shit yes, it could”.

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  2. The trick is to surround yourself with similarly challenged friends to see who remembers what , when and how. 😀 😀 😀
    Had a conversation with a friend. Somehow I got side-tracked–just for a beat. Went back to the conversation. “Where was I? What was I talking about?”
    “I don’t know,” she said. We stared at one another.
    I stuck my finger in her face. “You weren’t listening, were you?”
    “I was, but I forget.”
    “We better not go on holiday together. We’ll get lost for sure.: She forgot we were planning a vacation.

    Why is this happening? 😀 😀 😀

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  3. Goodness gracious I don’t remember the last time I pulled off an all-nighter! As I age the nouns “What’sit” and “What’shisname” are taking over my vocabulary!

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  6. I’ve lost my sense of modesty. Now if the doctor tells me to take off my clothes, I don’t care. Bend over? What the heck. Do what in that cup? Alright, whatever.

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  7. “age-enabled readers” – hee hee, what a nice way to put it 🙂
    I certainly spend time trying to describe things while I’m waiting for the the noun to arrive in my head.

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  8. I’ve had trouble losing nouns all week. Tonight, I was trying to describe the experience the next US president should have and I could not think of the words international relations. I was like, “you know, the stuff with other countries.” Ugh. This is why I don’t converse with many people anymore!

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    1. lol I know exactly what you mean. It’s like we’re playing a constant game, trying to have others guess the right word. 😉
      Hope this day treats you kindly, Trisha. 🙂

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  9. Well said. I wouldn’t be young again if you paid me…well, it would have to be a hell of a lot! The noun thing is infuriating. I was still in my forties when this started happening. I was trying to think of ‘beef’ and though I gave a lovely description but as for the word beef, I came out with Beryl Bainbridge. Yer what!

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  10. I had a witty comment to post here but it now eludes me.

    I do love your thingamabob at the top of the page, though, a lot. You know; the name of the post part.

    More GAINS:
    Gratitude (we’re still here; many others are not)
    Discernment (known as a BS-detector, on ALL the time)
    Ennui (been there, done that, can’t find the T-shirt)
    Repositories of herstories/histories (“Yes, Paul McCartney was in a couple of well-known and well-regarded bands before he produced Kanye West’s newest album. Really.”)

    More LOSSES:
    Peers/Colleagues (those who know what we know and understand where we’ve been/what we’ve accomplished)
    Fascination/Excitement (see above, Ennui)
    Optimism (we know the fairy tale isn’t real; there are very few “happily-ever-afters”)
    Willingness to lie (“No, I don’t think you make a great couple even though you’re passionately in lust.”)

    Thanks, Darcy!

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  15. I don’t know that society actually worships youth. It likes youth, but in kind of the same way it likes civil rights leaders: when they’re safely dead and non-threatening anymore. The actual thing is messy and scary; when youth has gotten organized and processed into a well-defined lump lightly tinted with nostalgia then it’s really liked.

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  16. As the years go by it becomes easier to lose track of the very thing that we want to hold onto -Time. Go figure. Lovely post and great comments. Reblogging this, thanks.

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  19. I’ve only just got used to the fact that I need glasses to read. I went to a specialist last week as I was convinced I had something blocking one of my ears. Turns out I’m just getting age-related deafness….. :-O

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  23. This was a perfect post on the eve of my blankety-blank number birthday! I keep telling myself that we’re all the same age inside once we get past 25. But lately I seem to keep forgetting, uh, what was I saying?? 😉

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    1. Hope you have a wonderful, um, that day that celebrates the day you were born, people give gifts and you have cake…you know, the thing. 😉
      Seriously, all the best on your birthday and everyday Linda! 🙂

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  24. Yep, a problem with nouns. I know all about that thing you just talked about. A couple of days ago (or was it last year?) I was trying to describe a, you know, a humming-thing… that bird with fast wings, that flies fast like one of those insects that pollinates pretty things and makes the stuff you spread on your toast. The little fast bird doohickeys that don’t have feet you can see. Anyway, it’s cold outside, and i hope I don’t have to go out the thing that keeps the house closed up..
    Great post, btw. Or did I already say that?

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    1. lol It’s frustrating to be able to describe the noun yet the noun itself is elusive. 😉
      Great description of a hummingbird though. 😉
      I went out the thing that keeps the house closed up and I was very, very sorry. 🙂
      Thank you kindly…who am I kidding, even if you said it was a great post before, you can say it again. 🙂

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  25. Cheer up donna… Not able to exactly figure out how old u are; I will be crossing sixty this February 27th. Keep reminding yourself that the best is yet to be, and things will really be..best wishes… Raj.

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  27. I’m 30 next time and am so tempted to have an “I’m not old” tantrum and spend a week hiding under the duvet to prove I’m still young…Though after my mosh-pit adventures the other week I’ve been told by my colleagues that I am now totally uncool and old so no amount of wobbler throwing is going to change their minds. Cheeky gits!

    What I’ve realised though, is that people put far too much pressure on birthdays, especially the “big ones”. I keep getting asked how I feel about turning the “big 3-0” as though I’m going to wake up that morning with my tits and face vying for most saggy body part! I figure as long as we’re happy and healthy then what does it matter what age we are?

    Also – Wouldn’t having a hairy chin be a positive in Winter months?

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    1. lol Age is just a number although the higher the number the more intimidating it can be. 😉
      Your mosh-pit adventure sounded wild, brought a lot of memories back and memories of what it felt like on my back. 😉
      I have close to 20 years on you, so don’t worry, enjoy 30. 🙂
      Yes, a hairy chin is good for the summer months and the hipster lumberjack look is in right now. 😉

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  28. Thanks for a great whats-ya-ma-callit. So glad that my brain hasn’t taken on those, what was it?? Oh well, you know what I mean. What were we talking about then?
    Thanks for joining us at #MidLifeLuv! We’re very glad to get to know you and your blog.
    Kimberly
    http://FiftyJewels.com

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  29. I love your lists, and I have to agree with every item on each. I’ve learned to focus on the “pros” as much as possible and to take my opportunities there.

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  30. Revenge of the Nouns… Too funny!
    I loved the movie Revenge of the Nerds!
    Hi Donna! I hope all is well!
    Thanks for coming to last week’s Pit Stop.
    Janice, Pit Stop Crew

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    1. Thanks for having me, Janice, I always find lovely blogs, insight, recipes, and above all, community – always lots of #bloglove
      Thank you kindly and hope this week is treating you well. 🙂

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  31. Pingback: The Weekly Headlines – My Daily Musing

    1. Thank you for including so many of my posts in your intriguingly extensive list. This is lovely, thank you so much. I hope this weekend treats you kindly. 🙂

      Reply

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