old young people

i have friends who like to kvetch that they are old. it bugs me because i dont think of myself as old. when my friends start kvetching about aches i keep thinking is it just them or am i in deep denial? (btw, my actual age is irrelevant for this topic, so dont even go there in your brain) part of my feeling of agelessness is due to the fact i do not have kids or even nieces or nephews. another reason i feel young is due to my upbringing. i grew up surounded by elders who felt young at heart no matter what their age. they may have looked aged but that was where it ended. i have a great uncle who started drawing in his late seventies. my grandmother was an associate travel agent who oraganized and led trips for senior citizens until she was eighty. i have been fortunate to have elders who always seemed up to date with life instead of living in the past.i try to emulate them. i think that this is what keeps me young. i try to be able to relate to young and old alike in an age appropriate manner.
i dont want to get old before my time. many of my peers have cried old at 35. to me this is so sad. why waste time feeling old? maximize life. feeling old never helps. it just makes one feel depressed. i really dont feel old . what good would feeling old do anyway? three years from now i will wish that i was as young as i am today. i want to feel the hope of youth as long as i can, if not always. when one stops striving one becomes old. when one stops having hope GAME OVER.