We are aging differently y’all.

I’m sure I’m not unique in any of this. I’m an elder Gen X. I’m gonna turn 60 this year. I’ve noticed some things over the past few years.

We’re aging very differently. Some of us are defying age. Still going to shows, still active and living well while some of us absolutely look our age and then some.

I’ve got some friends who won’t do anything if it involves walking more than a couple hundred steps. This means large concerts, travel, festivals and well a lot of adventures are just off the table.

Until just recently, I was one of the folks skating by with no real health issues. Suddenly this week, I got a chest scan and learned I have calcium build up around my heart. My doc prescribed an aggressive statin drug to treat the issue. He’s referred me to a cardiologist and suddenly I’m not invincible anymore. I’d be freaked out, but given my life the only real surprise is it’s taken this long for something to come up.

I’m one of those weirdos who has been a smoker, drinker, occasional drug user, endurance athlete, gym rat etc. I knew this was coming, I’m just not sure how I feel about it. My family history tells me I have somewhere between 10-25 years left on the clock. I assume if I don’t have a heart attack, I’ll spend my last years giving my life savings to some bullshit assisted living facility and I really don’t wanna do that.

Like many of us, I’ve been losing people pretty steadily since Covid. My mom died in 2022 and it seems like that started a cascade of losses for me. I feel like that’s just the way this goes.

For me, I decided before this health thing to just live my life to the fullest I can manage. I started riding motorcycles again last year. I’m traveling and going to shows but what really makes me happy is being around and helping my community. I’ve got two brothers and a cousin left alive but I am so blessed for the community of friends I have.

We all need to help each other. I’m committed to being an excellent neighbor, community is everything to me. I dunno if we get out of the mess we’re in here in the US and if we do, will we be around to see it? What’s going on in our country isn’t new, it’s exacerbated and more obvious than ever but in reality, I don’t think much has ever changed.

So I guess my question for this sub is how is everyone else dealing? Am I the only one who noticed that suddenly pics from the 90’s seem kinda old timey? It’s all so weird. Being the middle child of American History is a trip ain’t it?

EDIT: this post got me banned from the Gen X sub for being political. I have not plead my case or asked to be reinstated… because I’m Gen X.