A Time To Chill & Wind Down?

[Melstar]

I've just come to a realization that i'm very activity/action oriented.

Actually someone pointed it out, but that's another story.

The thing is I love being busy.. Does that sound strange? Not to me. My normal day to day life is pretty packed as it is, but when it winds down for a bit i'll usually try to find something to supplement the empty spaces.

Heaps of ya'll here are probably ages 30 and up..


so just as a completely innocent independent question, without any bearing on my relationship status, my work or my mental state of mind, do people wind down on the activity as they get older?

[rocknrollgirl]

well, what do you mean by wind down?

what do you mean by older?

[Velobambina]

I'm almost 44 years old and my life is much busier than I was in my early 20s.

Let's see, my responsibilities include full-time demanding job (career), husband, house to take care of, three big dogs, other adult "have tos" (grocery shopping, errads, chores, etc.), etc. Add to that, my de-stress activities that I need to maintain my health and sanity: bike riding, running, weight training, and trying to find time for swimming so I'll be ready for my first triathlon next summer.

Note: I don't have children. Don't know how people with kids do it, especially women who hold down full or part time jobs and manage to raise children.

[rocknrollgirl]

That is what I was getting at...I am 45, work full time teaching HS Biology, DH, house, all of the chores etc, and training for a tri and a 12 hour mt bike race....

Plus I now have the stress of being part of the sandwich generation....

So has it slowed down. Nope. Am I having the time of my life. Yep.

And I too do not know how folks with kids squeeze this all in. I bow down to your greatness. I think about it every time I set out for a ride of a run...now where would I put the kid?????

bring it on!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ruth

[Bad JuJu]

I'm another woman without kids, I just turned 54, and my life is so much busier than it was when I was younger. On the other hand, I'm a lot happier now than I was then, so I guess it's all the kind of busy-ness that makes me happy: teaching, caring for home, husband, and dog, biking, kayaking, motorcycling (recently added), and traveling when we can.

I, too, don't know how I'd do it all with a couple of kids thrown into the mix, but I do know that most of us do what we're called upon to do. I've been primary caregiver to both my mom and my dad as they (we) struggled with Alzheimer's disease, and that was while I worked and tried to do all the other things, too--except for traveling, which was severely curtailed during those periods. And those were THE hardest times of my life, bar none, but we all got through it somehow. That's not exactly the same as raising children--easier in some ways, much harder in other ways--but the point is, again, we do what we're called upon to do for our families, whether it's raising children or escorting our parents through their last illness.

[mimitabby]

my husband calls me a human doing (instead of a human being)
I am almost always moving too. Sometimes I do get stuck in a book,
but that's the exception, not the rule. I multitask. I'm 55.
I raised two kids, you have to know how to multitask!

[Brandi]

I am 38 and i can not wind down at all. I am always moving. Drives my dh up the wall! He is always telling me to sit. And when i do he is amazed! There are to many things to do in life to wind down! Now even when i throw my neck out i don't stop!

[DebW]

I'm 50, and I'd say I've seen some winding down in myself and my friends as we've gotten older. In the years before I had kids, every weekend was planned with hiking, biking, or whitewater canoeing/kayaking. Then kids happened, and though we still did most of those active things, life became more kid-centric, and minute-by-minute busier. As the kids got older, free time emerged again (free time? what's that?). Took awhile to get used to that, and gradually new activities emerged to fill the gaps: softball, flatwater kayaking, more biking, trail maintainer work. Yet I don't need to be busy every minute and I'm not always as motivated to go out and do something active as I used to be. And small tasks that aren't my favorite things can get put off in favor of reading a book or surfing the web or working a sudoku puzzle. I've got a sewing project I started last January (or was that the January before last?) that I still haven't finished. And a tire I started sewing up 3 months ago is still half-sewn. Some things I only work on in very short segments as I just have trouble concentrating on them for very long. I've noticed a big difference with one group of friends. We've met at a cabin in NH for about 30 years, and we used to be doing things constantly (swimming, kayaking, hiking, etc). Now we still do those things, but there are big lulls in between where we all just sit around and talk and feel good about NOT doing anything.

[TrekJeni]

I'm 31 and I always joke I have a form of ADD. Can't sit still. Must be doing something. I get "bored" really easily. No kids but active in road and MTB, dog training and competing, I'm a licensed AKC hunt test and field trial judge (judge pointing breed hunting competitions). Plus the normal 9 - 5 job.

Left a seven year relationship that was going nowhere earlier this year. I'm happy doing my thing and he's happy doing nothing - well unless you call the bar 4 nights a week "something".

Now involved with a guy that is as much as a tornado of activity as I am!

Jeni

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I'm 52, my two daughters are grown.
I would have to say that I do way more now every day than I did when I was in my 20's. I do more work, more play, more chores and things to keep track of. But in my 20's it FELT like I was impossibly busy. I do more now but it does not feel as out of control or hectic because I have gotten better at managing my time more efficiently and suffling things and prioritizing stuff. Stuff that might have taken me 4 hours to do in my 20's now might take 2 hours.
I also am better able to say "no" to certain things without guilt, and better able to back off on some things so I can concentrate on other things. Just all around better at getting things done and planning my life and schedule, moving things around. Also definitely better at balancing work and play- if you are able to play too you feel less overwhelmed.

I don't plan on slowing down until my body forces me to- hopefully not until my 80's! (knock on steel)

[five one]

What Lisa S.H. and Mimi said.

We have a friend who only recently stopped doing triathlons at 74. She just oozes positive energy! I've told her I want to be her when I grow up. I'm "only" 54 now, so there's time. I have no plans for a tri, but hope to continue cycling as long as I possibly can. I only came back to it four years ago after an almost 30 year lull. I'm fitter now than I ever was in my 20s when I was thin simply because I was young and didn't eat much.

[RoadRaven]

Interesting thread

Part of my job is teaching teachers about the brain development that occurs in infants and toddlers and so I try and stay abreast of recent brain research as there are new things discovered every year.

Last year I read how, contrary to popular belief, "they" had proven that the brain is not fully formed as we end adolescence, and in fact there are significant parts in the adolescent brain that are linked to various things (such as decision making) that are still incomplete.

Just a few months ago I was reading about another study that shows that although the brain begins to deteriorate as we get older, if we are physically and mentally active, other bits of the brain begin to take over from the "worn out" bits. In other words, the brain retrains and reorganises itself.

In short, if you dont use it, you may lose it.



As for me - 41 years, 21 year marriage, 5 kids, part-time study, employed full-time as a tertiary teacher and an avid cyclist... well, if I tried to fit all this into my day/week when I was 19-20 (or even to think about what I fit into a day!)... I honestly don't think I could have coped!