Does anyone else feel as they get older that they are more pessimistic? I think that when one is in in 20s or 30s everything seems somehow brighter but in 40s and definitely by 50s (where I am now) life seems rather less hopeful. I suppose that in mid-life one can see both the beginning and the end of life and that is really depressing. What do others feel about this?

I'm mid 50s and Things are pretty good for me. Enjoying being a grandma and my music is going well. I have great teachers for both instruments, have met some lovely musical friend through the forum via which I also have learned to play for and with others and not just for myself, am doing some music teaching, playing in a local orchestra and am a Volunteer Reading Helper.
I'm lucky in not having to go out to work. Enjoying being a kept woman.

I think I share some feelings in common with both of you. Having reached mid 50s it is hard not to think that more time has passed than is left, and that can be profoundly depressing, especially if, like me, you have a sense that you haven't achieved all that might have been possible. My children are only just reaching the leaving home and becoming independent stage, so I wonder if I will ever see grandchildren. At the same time, there are elderly relatives who begin to need more time and effort than previously. And if one is unfortunate enough to need to work, but the economy dictates otherwise, that is another cause to lose out in the optimism stakes.

So how to cope? I think by accepting that most of us can't make much of an impact on the wider world. I know I have done a reasonable job bringing up my children. I know when I took an exam myself it inspired someone else to do the same thing, which has altered their life for the better. I even know that smiling at the old chap in the car park yesterday made him happier, if perhaps only briefly. Seeing two jays when I was out today made me happy in that moment.

I suppose I am saying notice and take joy in all the small, fleeting things that can easily get overlooked.

I do feel that the older I get, the less I recognise the world I thought I grew up in.

I'm still heading for fifty, with a very few years to go now: having been through a very bleak patch indeed, I'd say the opposite - my views on whether or not the society is improving haven't actually changed much, but in terms of humanity itself, there's still reason to be optimistic, I think, and I'm more willing to look for that now than ever I was. When a teenager myself, I was scared of gaggles of teens, now I'm not, and indeed enjoy teenaged company, and the many comments I come across by older people, about how the world was a better place in their youth really irritate me. It was different, yes, but I see good and bad for each, then and now. I still feel I have a place in the community, some value and some worth, and whilst it will undoubtedly be a struggle for our kids to find their way through life, that actually wasn't so very different even in my time - just that the form the struggles took was different. As I get older, I find that human nature is much the same as ever it was, with people obsessing about their place in society, and looking out for the behaviours of others and picking over them to decide how to pigeonhole them. I doubt that'll ever change....

Yes, we grumpy older people are a real pain, aren't we !

I think I'm less pessimistic now than in my younger days. Looking back, I was quite judgemental in my twenties and thirties. I deplored what I saw as falling moral standards - the huge rise in abortions and teenage pregnancies, the rise of the drug culture, the breakdown of family life - and that made me quite depressed about the future.

Now the dust has settled a little and I'm older (big 6-0 approaching rapidly) and hopefully wiser, I can see a lot more to be optimistic about. Despite the many things that are wrong in the UK, I meet people every day who are doing their best to live a decent life and caring about their fellow men. In fact, the majority of people are like this - if they weren't, the country would be a far less pleasant place. I'm much more inclined to look on the bright side than I was 30 years ago.

if you really group yourself with such - only when you grump, and actually, the main people affected negatively by suchlike tend to be the very same expressing the grumps.....


I am in an unusual situation perhaps: at forty seven, I'm half the age of my mother-in-law, and a good deal younger also than my husband. When M-i-L starts up about how bad the world is compared with when she was young, I will, if on a patient day, remind myself that hers were the days before antibiotics, before washing machines, and when people may have Known Their Places but were treated like absolute offal if they dared to behave in any way out of the niche others had assigned them to: M-i-L wasn't encouraged to think for herself, and expected to be a skivvy and to be considered more feeble and less worthy of respect than males. The rants about how bad today is started when I was only 26 - as one of the younger generation at that time, I resented them then, and am therefore much more circumspect when looking at today's issues. I see the world as containing humans of all age groups, who need to get on together: that means me giving up some of my expectatations for those coming after me, quite possibly, but also finding ways which allow me to guide where I see mistakes being made, in a way which still recognises that the process of one generation handing over to another is ongoing.

Is the OP talking about life in general, or their own situation? It is possible to hold different views on each. I'm well into my 50s, and stubbornly remain a cheerful optimist regarding things which I can influence. Some matters quite out of my control, however, do lead me to a little pessimism.

I'm a pretty optimistic 58 year old. But then I have always been a glass half full person (except where beer is involved).

I count myself extremely lucky that unlike the previous two generations of my family I haven't had to endure a world war.

Well I'm definitely at the younger end of your spectrum, and fairly willing to admin that I am normally a pessimist, and fairly cynical a lot of the time. If I am being conspicuously optimistic, it usually also means I'm being sarcastic at the same time.

Yet most people will say that I am relatively cheerful, and do get stuck in with things, even those that I don't enjoy. I tend to think of life as a series of challenges or an adventure to get through - while considering the hurdles and difficulties as inevitable. I try very hard to be tolerant of other people, but I'm also impatient and quick to be defensive.

I find myself constantly wanting to make a difference to the world, but well aware that its unlikely I ever will. That it itself is quite saddening - I'm now making the decisions that I know will mean that I settle into the daily grind without creating anything amazing, changing the lives of thousands and so on. That's okay though, I can still try to postitively affect the world of the people in my immediate circle, and over the course of a lifetime, that can be quite a few. It's just a shame that I won't be able to make a song-and-dance about that.

(and I haven't quite reached 30).

At 61 I received my state pension and my bus pass a week ago. About my own life I feel hugely optimistic. For the first time I have time, money and freedom to indulge my major hobbies of travelling the world and playing the violin. (I have a business as well as my pension or the money part of that would not be the case.) Also I have an agreeable partner who encourages me to do what I want, and nice sons who are getting on with their lives, (in spite of one having disabilities). In the words of the Saw Doctors' song, I was "born at the right time", young enough to miss the war, and old enough to have grown up with good healthcare, full employment and to retire relatively young. I also feel privileged to have made it to this age fit and healthy when some of my friends have not made it at all.

About the world in general if I think about it too much I find it depressing, but actually I think this was always the case. Now it's unemployment and terrorism and the unstable middle east, back in the 60's it was strikes, the Berlin wall, the cold war - and the unstable middle east. There will always be something. Personally I get round this by hiding my head in the sand and never reading newspapers and concentrating on things I can influence. It works for me.

I don't generally. I wondered if you were referring to my previous post in this thread.

I think my subsequent reply might've made it clearer where I was coming from, then: aged M-i-L is the one in my life who likes to come down on the world of today as if it had no merits, thereby getting on my wick .

It matters to me because our world really is what we humans make of it: thus criticisms of it end up affecting us all.

Once you have faced up to the fact that you are not immortal [that one day you will die (and statistically, most likely from heart/circulation disease/failure or cancer)], come to terms with it, and accepted that you have a finite time left on earth then, surprisingly, the optimism and enthusiasm return.




Many of us have been spared the horrors of war, but that is just the luck of where we happened to be born. Since WWII there have been wars somehwere on the planet almost constantly, and millions have died in them, many of them killed in our name, or that of our so-caled allies.

http://www.cissm.umd.edu/papers/files/deat...tsjune52006.pdf

I do fear a bit for the future. On a grand scale, there is always something to worry about but little point in worrying about it! On a personal level, I am worried that the health problems I have now will only get worse and that by the time I get to retire (70?) I won't have the health to do anything that my own retired parents do now. I also doubt that I will have their wealth as my pension is being cut as we speak!

I'm only 23 .... so not sure if I belong on this thread or not! A lot of the time I feel like I was born in completely the wrong era. I love old things, especially cars and think that growing up when my mum was would have been very exciting (born 1959) but really thinking about it, I'm not sure it would have really been any different.

Anacrusis makes a fantastic point re her MIL, I see exactly what she is talking about with some of my relatives who I don't think are quite as old as this MIL is! The good thing about today is that everyone has so many choices, I chose to become a music teacher among other things, making quite a bit of money on the internet - something that would not have been possible if I were born when my mum was.

My family are probably distinctly working class with me not quite fitting in, if I'm honest. They don't get my fascination with music and learning new things and even trying to make as much of my life as is possible. I think a lot of it has to do with their own expectations growing up - they were expected to leave school and work some mind numbing job. They were expected to get married and have a child / children. I wasn't. In fact I reckon my parents thought I'd be single for the rest of my life!

I?m rather like a helter skelter on this one. And sometimes it depends on something as simple as the weather. On the whole I am more optimistic than pessimistic both about the world and about personal things than is my partner and this often causes jokes at home.

I would agree with a lot of what has been said ? certainly about coming to terms with mortality and being thankful for the good things life has brought. On the other hand I don?t think we should entirely ignore the complaints of people who are nostalgic for the past. After all, very often the baby has been thrown out with the bath water.

Aquarelle - excellent point about baby and bathwater. So often it is the case with so-called progress.

It is true we have gained a great deal in the past generation. We have also lost much that will never be restored.

So what sorts of things have been lost?

Yep, that attitude gets on my wick as well.

As my hero Tony Capstick said, "We had lots of things in those days they don't have now. Rickets, Diphtheria, Hitler......."

What any individual feels has been lost will very much depend on their experience and will not necessarily be the same for everyone. Also for some people what they regret may be seen as a good riddance by others. Here are some of the things I feel have been lost or devalued on at least a large enough scale in my experience to be noticeable.

Peace and quiet. Our environment is increasingly noisy.
Time to reflect, absorb and think. This goes up and down a bit with one?s daily commitments but is, I think, in general scarcer than it was.
The ability to reason and think things through instead of jumping on the current bandwagon. This has no doubt always been so, but with the increase of media power it is, I think, more widespread.
Polite exchange in debate ? that came to my notice when comparing extracts seen on television from former presidential election campaigns and the campaign which has just finished in France.
Childhood ? drastically shortened by early puberty, and cashed in on by advertisers.
The respect for privacy.
Fidelity ? not the kind of tying people together in a hothouse of hate but the idea that you can get out of the responsibilities of marriage, parenthood and friendship when it suits you.
Language ? a living thing which must and will change but it would be nice if that didn?t mean depriving the younger generation of much that is beautiful.

These are just a few things. I know perfectly well t that I am laying myself open to criticism and that there is another side to every coin and also that it can be argued that these things have always been so. But over a period of several decades emphases change and I stand by my opinion that this is not automatically a good thing.

Very often it?s a case of finding the right balance. Of course there are enormous advantages ? I lament the lack of privacy in our lives but I don?t criticise the media when they reveal something that should be aired. It is all very complicated and requires a book ? not a post ? to examine it fully.

I can appreciate that some people find other people's hankering after the past and criticsm of the present
very irritating. But if the present does not contain enough of the past then the future will be built on a very shaky foundation.

Not going to go into this sort of thing a lot but please.........childhood shortened??

Perhaps you mean puberty no longer delayed by poor diet?

Not so long ago that school leaving age was 14 (my mother left at 14) and it was very unusual for a woman to be unmarried in her 20s (my mother married 2 weeks after her 21st birthday).

.....work by 14 and married by 21 sounds like a pretty short childhood to me. That was Britain in the late 40s / early 50s.

Edit...this sort of discussion can go on for ever and never get anywhere. Example, counter example and so on....going back to piano practice!

Thank you Aquarelle, a thoughtful response, and yes, I can see where you're coming from, even though many of those points to me have other angles which also merit consideration. I do actually have only one major disagreement with you - that regarding the ability to reason and think things through. It's precisely because people in the past accepted as fact ideas and concepts, simply on the say-so of their elders, that they mourn that past, I think: the simplicity of swallowing whole "truths" which turn out to be unfounded and needing questioning, even when that is painful to do. It's now that people, at any rate in some cultures, are learning to pick over what they're told, and to be sceptical and seek evidence for the opinions put forward to them, over a greater breadth of a population than only the intelligentsia: we need this critical thinking in order to be able to move forward and make sense of the changes developing in our society.

I do know what you mean about the shortening of childhood: however, although my children are more sophisticated by far than I was at parallel ages to them, I don't see that as a disadvantage. My two have poise and self-assurance, are learning now some of the basics of self-determination which I had to learn once at university, and they're still in the safe home environment whilst doing so - once they flit the nest I suspect I will be able to be far less worried about them for that very reason . I think many who talk about this aspect of growing up in a negative way are concerned with the concept of childhood innocence, but I'd have to agree with StuMac that kids who started work at fourteen in the past will have stopped being kids, most abruptly, at that point. The trick is to adapt to those aspects of innocence seen as being "lost": okay, so kids know more, but there are other ways to protect them from unwise experimentation....

It was indeed a short childhood; but in terms of life expectancy in the 1940's, ages of 14 and 21 represented a comparatively large chunk of life.

I suspect part of the misconception here is that young children of today generally enjoy much 'softer', better protected and multicoloured lives until they reach the age of about eleven or twelve, when they are rudely exposed to the realities of life through secondary school, the internet, and increasing interest in the media.

By contrast, most children of the 1940's and 50's would have had harder, grittier black and white upbringings, without television, cars, plentiful food and fizzy drinks, central heating, welfare, modern healthcare and so forth. Many more children of this generation would have been exposed to death of a close family member than current teenagers.

Punishment of children was also much more physical in those days, so perhaps the transition to work at the age of 14 was not as much of a shock then as it would be to the children of today.



Thinking of my own outlook on life (as a child of the mid 1950's), I am far more of a realist and less of an idealist today that I was thirty years ago, (some would say more cynical), and I see things much more for what they are, rather than how they're painted.

I am also angered by people who like to make life difficult for others by playing petty politics (at all levels), and those that exert undue and unfair influence over others through 'funny handshakes' or clique loyalties.

At the same time I worry far less about things I cannot change, but instead try to conserve my energies for those things that I can change.

I am immensely grateful for what I have today, and I am much more accepting of my lot in life than I was thirty years ago.

However, I must admit that I do feel slightly cheated by the older generation, which enjoyed (and squandered) plentiful natural resources, was responsible for massive pollution, bought cheap land and houses which spiralled in value, and in many cases received very generous pensions which I am paying for, whilst I doubt that I will ever be able to retire myself.

I am probably more optimistic now than I was thirty years ago, partly through greater realism, but more because I see far more opportunities now than ever.

SB

Stephen Covey would love you

I am pleased about that, although I had to Google his name.

SB

Just coming back in on the shortened childhood thing. No Stumac, I don?t mean puberty delayed by poor diet. I mean puberty hastened by poor diet, probably caused by pollutants A few years ago I had a little girl pupil of eight who was being treated for early puberty. At eight years old she was showing signs of physical development more compatible with fourteen. This is apparently becoming increasingly common and it is worrying.
To add to the point about childhood innocence made by anacrusis, no it wasn?t innocence I was on about. What I meant was that the timeless aspect of childhood is what is missing today when there are imposed upon children frenetic attempts to meet deadlines and standards, to rush through childhood as if the one thing that mattered was growing up as fast as possible.
It?s nice that anacrusis can feel her children are poised to meet the challenges of life. But I am afraid this is not the case for many. I do actually teach a group of children who are brought up by their parents in a way which allows them to experience their childhood fully, to come to terms as they mature with the vicissitudes of life, to pass from the relatively protected world of childhood to the world of adolescence and adulthood with support and encouragement. Over the years I have seen several of these children grow into poised and confident young adults. But among those I teach and have taught many are far less fortunate. Some are even more or less left to bring themselves up.
The one thing that strikes me about the group I mention is that they are allowed time to be children. They are not hot house flowers, and it?s also that kind of thing, StuMac, that I meant. Yes, , I know this kind of discussion can ? and probably will go round in circles ? and of course there will be examples and counter examples. But it?s nice to air our thoughts and hear about those of others.
But back on the wider issues I would agree with a lot of what Swell box says - and I am also going to have to google Stephen Covey!

I have been trying to resist giving my vacuous five pennorth... but the sun is shining and I have a steaming cup of tea, and a pleasant afternoon of work behind me.

One thing I hope my children gained was parents and teachers who listened to them and tried to support them in what they wanted to do. Although sometimes it was quite hard to work out what that was. Rather than dictating. Anyone else remember parents coming back from parents' evening saying, 'we've decided you should do X'? It was stitched up with the teachers. I fear it still goes on but not as much I hope.

What do folks think about the National Trust's 50 things to do before you're 11 and 3/4? I had a quick look and reckoned my children did about 2/3 - they reckon more [...what didn't I know...?]. That's probably more than I did, but I was a town mouse and they weren't, which might have helped.

On the old folk rant, I am sick to death of having half the woes of the modern world blamed on women not knowing their place. I also find it disturbing, which is probably healthy. Fortunately my children and nieces seem to be waterproofed against the metaphorical buckets of cold water that get slung at them from time to time.

On the half full/half empty issue, I hope to take after my mother. She like so many old people I know said she'd had a good life. And her stories make it sound so. Yet it could have been described differently: an impoverished 1930s childhood, leaving school to help support the family although she was an outstanding student, a world war and being bombed and then hunted by submarine, married life and small children on a limited budget, seeing plans for retirement dashed when husband had a life-changing illness. But she was one of those who squinted at the glass and said surely it was three-quarters full. Based on genetics, I have a 50:50 chance of being the same... looking good at the moment. She hated tea though. Still, no one is perfect.

I've done forty out of the fifty!

They're all very nature and exploring the countryside based, which is fine, but I don't like the idea of setting both an upper age limit, and a target of this particular fifty. Taking the spirit of it though, fair enough: my two had certainly done well more than half of those, and a range of other similar things too, as well as more urban experiences, like making a volcano out of clay with bicarb and dyed-red vinegar for the 'splodey bit, catching a bus and taking it to the end of its journey and back, making an out of doors living room in the school playground out of sofas and other bits of furniture left in the street, going to corner shops on errands with smaller kids in tow, and returning said smaller kids in one piece , and creating all sorts of architecture out of cardboard boxes and packaging, and then making use of that in games....

At 53, I am quite content. My 4 children have been kind and not given me any grandchildren yet. I am delighted to have this "break" in child care and not having to think of my children's needs as previously. They are grown up, have relationships, jobs, the last in University and seem to have a reasonable life even in this recession. I love being able to go away without thinking of either having to take them with us or whether we will have a house to come back to if we leave them at home We have had our share of illness. I got TB, yes that old disease is still around! But thanks to modern medication I recovered completely as opposed to dying of consumption My youngest had a variety of illness when born and we are utterly greatful to Great Ormond st hospital for her care through many years. My OH also has a heriditary disease which is managed by modern medicine whereas pre-war he would have died shortly after birth. The NHS is a great wonder, I wil defend it to the hilt.

Child care was the hardest part of marriage/work as both mother and mother in law worked. My own mother had been a stay at home mum before she crossed the road to work at Tesco until she was 65 and loved it. I could never get her to do any child care and now I totally understand why. I feel like "me" and not x's wife or 'y' mummy. Best of all I have been able to give my OH the "girl" he married the precious quality time before we become decrepit. I love the fact that we survived my dreadful menpause, but would have totally understood if he had let me, I know I would have left me!! I have got in touch with old girl friends through the wonder of Facebook, and we laugh a lot together. I do voluntary work with some disabled children which is incredibly rewarding.

There was a point when I was quite anxious that one day war would touch me and my family, as I couldnt believe I could be so lucky not to have such a disaster bypass us. Let me now confess I seriously considered hoarding tin food in the attic Now I worry about that a lot less. I value my parents now in their 80s, and cant believe I gave them such h-e-l-l as a teenager and they are kind enough not to remind me of those days! I continue to go to them both for advice.

We have had money issues but recognise that money isnt everything, health is completely the most valuable.

I have seen birth (my nephew- amazing) and death (my father-in-law, the most loving goodbye) up close and now completely accept the circle of life.

Unfortunately I have made little progress learning the Harmonica, but will still keep trying

I've done 46 ! (But then I am well past my half century )

I think it would be a shame to rush through them all by the age of 12. What fun I'd have missed in my 20's 30's and 40's !!

Ayshah, That is such an uplifting post

I was thinking about this earlier, and thinking what an enormous variation there is in attitudes between different people...even in the same house. If I think about my parents... Mum very much embraces the position that having reached 68 this doesn't mean that you've only got a few years left and you might as well put your feet up, listen to The Archers and wait for the mobile library. She's all for going out and living life to the full and do lots of exciting things (after all, her mother lived to 92 and hers to 90). Dad on the other hand, is the complete opposite; he's very much bound up in the attitudes of his parents where you retired at 65 (from your steady career where you'd worked your way up the ladder, bettering your household's lifestyle ) and if you live another 10 years, it's a real bonus. I'm caught between .

Yes, the attitude of those around us is bound to have an effect. If those around you are telling you shouldn't be learning to play various instruments because there's no point at "your" age, or you "won't be able" to use a computer because they weren't around when you were young, etc etc etc it's hard not to start thinking that perhaps that is how you should be. But I am not giving up my music, and still hope one day someone else might get some pleasure from my efforts. Perhaps, one day, when I do admit that I might be approaching old age, I might even wear purple, but that time is years away yet.

I wear purple....

It really doesn't matter what others think, or what they expect from 'somebody of your age'. If you enjoy doing it that is all that matters. If others enjoy you doing it, that is a bonus.

Age is very much a state of mind. I often hear older people saying 'I'm to old to worry about that', or 'I don't want to have to learn anything new at my age', but that to me is a very negative attitude; probably borne out of a lifetime of boring work.

I like to learn something every day, and I never, ever want to stop learning!

SB

I think this is true, though I do feel it is effected by those around you. It's easy to say "I don't care what anyone else thinks" but it's far harder to put it into practice, particularly when it concerns those close to you and with whom our lives are intermingled.

Hmm, I'll perhaps buck the trend as say that, generally, I've got happier and more at peace as I've got older, despite being an emotional whirligig. I put part of this down to working less than I should, enjoying what's around me more, and avoiding negative people.

In fact I think it's not so much a case of having to wrap yourself up in a happiness bubble avoiding realities (world news, current affairs etc.) as just balancing it back up by finding/seeing good things around you. People can get so wrapped up in what's 'wrong' and completely miss out on how fantastic things are that are 'right'.

I think I've become more optimistic over the years. I've realised that some of my school friends for example, have gone out there and got on with things and achieved more than I have. They've just had more self-confidence and less caution than me.

Well, now I've decided at 50+ that I'm going to throw caution to the wind (in a modest way) and have a go at different things - like music exams, and a new job. Fortunately I have a supportive husband, so that's helpful, and I tend to ignore what older members of the family say - they generally never enquire what I'm doing anyway. I think it's important to have a go at something you want to do at whatever age you are, and it must be very hard if members of the family are not supportive.

Yes, I wear purple, too (but I haven't yet learned how to spit...).

When I told my evening group how old I was they all went, 'Oh, you don't look it!' (flattering) closely followed by, 'Well, you certainly don't ACT it' (relieving).

I never knew I could refer to this poem from GCSE 4 years ago

I had a crashing mid-life crisis in my early forties which came out of the blue and as a complete surprise! I just experienced a few minutes of horrific panic on a daily basis that life IS finite and opportunities and experiences were closing down to me. I also suddenly had a vast resource of opportunity and experience BEHIND me and it just made me feel old, depressed and written-off.

Then I had a horrendous year with elderly relatives that ended in December with the death of one who had been a seriously flawed and toxic person. It was a considerable relief. Now I naturally feel more optimistic because daily life is not so dreadfully stressed: I'm also very very lucky to be at that stage of life where I am secure financially and can take pleasure in day-to-day life and work on fulfilling my dreams and achievements (I love my job/family/home etc).

However, within the last two weeks I have discovered I may be carrying a defective gene that could dramatically shorten my life - if it manifests it is 100% fatal and there is really no effective treatment of any kind. Two, possibly three family members of the previous generation have lost their lives in recent years. A few years ago I would have been distraught and in a blind panic... but I feel calm. Thankfully I have no children to pass it on to. I'll find out in due course with blood tests but even that is no indicator if this condition might manifest for my generation - a classic case of a ticking time-bomb. I've discussed with my OH what we will do if it manifests including a living will and funeral/nursing-home plans but I'm not being morbid, just practical. I'm not even thinking about it all that much and the family have not yet even discussed a group blood-test scenario. But it's there.

I do feel calm and optimistic. I'm currently leading a wonderful life and I'm going to continue to find joy and love in every day, and continue making plans for a long and fulfilling 'mature-hood' . If it's a bit shorter than expected then, at the moment, I'm determined to make sure I have no real regrets

No, I don't feel less optimistic as I get older. My Mum died aged 53 when I was 30, so at that time I concluded that I was already past mid-life. Now, in my forties I feel as if I have enough patience for elderly people and yet still enough energy for young people. So I feel happy about being middle-aged.

Society does treat you differently. I have to laugh when I see exercise classes advertised as for the over forties when I already attend a class full of people half my age.

I have a friend who is in her seventies and she tells me that life gets better as you get older. It seems that middle age is a difficult time and once people have adjusted to it they decide to make the most of the rest of their lives.