Monday, September 25, 2006

Too old?

So, on Saturday night I headed out to a social event organised by the kids' school which featured what is known as a 'Dad band'.
Basically this was a group of dads from the school who had played in bands in their youth and were prepared, for the entertainment of the rest of us, to relive their youth in public.
Most were over-endowed in the belly department and under-endowed in the hair department but the delight on their faces more than made up for those deficiencies.
They were surprisingly good and played a decent set with 'Back in the USSR', 'Werewolves of London' and 'Teenage Kicks' standing out.

So why did the whole thing make me so depressed? Maybe I'm just a miserable sod but the palpable feeling that they were all too old for this now, despite the fact that they all obviously enjoyed themselves, was just too painful. Too many memories, too many regrets, too many opportunities lost.

God, it made me feel so old.
I hate being old.
I bloody,bloody, shitting bloody well hate it.

13 comments:

herschelian said...

Stoppit, stoppit now or you'll get me depressed and angry too.
If you are young enough to have kids who are still at school you are NOT yet old, when they have left school, done a gap year lying on the sofa and eating everything in the fridge, gone to uni for 3 years, then done post-grad, THEN you are getting old. But not before then. At the moment you are just older than you were.
By that definition I am old, well teetering on the brink of old, on the way out of middle-age anyway.
BTW you may call me Hersch.

GreatSheElephant said...

see, that wouldn't have depressed me but it would have irritated the hell out of me. The problem nowadays is that there is no natural progression in life. All you have is the young and the failed young. Personally, I'm middle aged and jolly happy to be so and life would be a darn sight more pleasant if there were more middle aged people about too instead of twerps reliving what they clearly view as their glory days. I'm not saying that means we shouldn't try to stay in good health and fit but I am saying we should pack away the guitars and wear more tweed.

Annie said...

You are still young and gorgeous, you silly thing. (You look like Famke Jannsen, remember?) And they are just - there is no other word for it - blokes. Foolish and irritating at any age. (Though depending on one's mood, sometimes kind of endearing.)

Annie said...

And another thing - I gave up worrying over my age as I have a distinct memory of thinking (age 24) 'Oh no! I'm 24! I'm really over the hill now...'

the whales said...

Seconding Annie - i remember hitting thirty and thinking it was all over. And now look. No point worrying about it. (Though i do.) Personally i think the idea of a bunch of Dads pretending to be The Undertones quite a laugh.

Hell, they're lucky to got to be Dads. I'm envious of anyone who has become a parent.

FirstNations said...

dont EVEN.
i'm 46, menopausal and still going too fast and lighting shit on fire. go have some illegal and or unreasonable fun. you'll feel better, i promise. especially if something explodes or there is unneccessary kung fu.

rel said...

"old" really is only a state of mind.
I tell the old fart who shows himself in my bathroom mirror in the morning to hit the road, "you're not welcome here."
Make yourself a promise right now: no more missed opportunities.
rel

Anonymous said...

My grandmother always used to tell me that she couldn't understand why an old hag looked at her from the mirror because she still felt 16 - I still don't know whether that is sad or liberating.....

I don't think it really matters what age you are - what matters is that you make the most of it. I think I felt older in my 30s than I do now, and that was because of other stuff that was nothing to do with numerical age. So, turn it up to 11, and have a good time all of the time!

realdoc said...

hersch: sorry about bringing you down
GSE:I was put off tweed by Madonna, I'm afraid.
Annie: ta for the kind words, more lie Famke's auntie I'm afraid.
Whales: hope you've perked up a bit, being a parent is great but also gives you wrinkles.
FN: have just set fire to supper, does that count?
Remiman: if an opportunity arises I promise I'll be ready, not sure about Mr realdoc though.
Chats: In the absence of religious belief, I often turn to Spinal Tap for solace, but I fear turning it up to 11 has made me slightly deaf.

Anonymous said...

I hate getting old too and it's worse because I really didn't think I would. At the ripe old age of 37 I know it's only going to get worse and like chatterbox's granny I still feel 17 inside.

At present I'm still veering between thinking age is a state of mind and to hell with it and giving up and going gracefully into middle age. The last I confess is hastened by the shame felt when remembering singing along to "white lines don't do it" complete with hand movements in the pub after work on Friday.

The sight of Germaine Greer essentially invisible on Big Brother also terrified me. The world we live in is not kind to middle-aged women.

GreatSheElephant said...

The point about invisibility is a sad but true one. One the whole though I think I'd rather deal with that with grace and dignity than make a fool of myself.

Which is clearly why I still insist on wearing bumster jeans (that's due to meanness more than anything else).

Geoff said...

Teenage Kicks should have been banned after John Peel's funeral. He should have taken it with him to the grave. Christ, if I hear that one more time...

Teenage kicks? What bloody kicks? It was a damn sight crapper being a teenager than it is being middle aged.

rockmother said...

Oh oh oh I know how you feel...but some days I manage to forget about it and just be who I am and not give a toss about anything or what anybody thinks of me which is quite freeing actually. Nostalgia is an interesting - I was going to say 'emotion' but I don't think it technically is although it's so strong sometimes it might as well be. Personally, I find it quite hard to be nostalgic and revel in it without then feeling rather depressed and frustrated that I just can't go back there - even for one day....