When you can still swim out through some scary waves and out for miles in the open ocean with your swim friends…and even if you’re a little scared you can be excited and call it an adventure. 
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I don’t know that I am still young enough!
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When you can squiz into jeans from Hollister and get compliments how nicely they fit .
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When I tell local folks that I often run around the lake trail, about 3.5miles. Sometimes I also mention that a few time a year when I have time and perfect weather I take a 2nd lap. (In summer I cycle over… only 1.5 miles away, but I call it my retirement “bike commute”).
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When I can still pull all-nighters. 
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But in our age group, an “all nighter” now means sleeping through the night without having to get up to pee!!
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Thankfully I am still young enough to associate “depends” as a possible outcome not an undergarment.
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For me, it means working on precast concrete shop drawings. 
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When you walk 7 mile trails routinely.
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When you do yoga and Pilates with women half your age and you keep up with them at 70-something. Gotta move it or lose it.
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When much younger women ask, “Where did you buy such a beautiful dress?” and upon getting the answer, quickly look it up.
When a 20-something sitting next to you on the bus discreetly takes a pic of your tote (like I wouldn’t notice 
) and posts it to her social media raving about the bag!
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Similar experience, BunsenBurner. A few years ago I had purchased a really cool duster and these gals at a Chicago restaurant stopped me and wanted to know where I bought it! They just kept fawning over it. I think it’s hilarious that gal stole a pic of your bag! Haha!
Speaking of bags and feeling young, I bought my first fake bag. I own 3 real YSL bags and love them. I’ve never bought LV. However, at a favorite thrift store there was a fake 2005 limited edition bag. So cute and different, a small denim satchel, red croc handle, big gold ball closure. We bargained for it and I did pay up a bit. The original was more than $3k. The reason I bought it was that it’s so dang cute and since it’s a limited edition, you don’t see it at all and unless you own it you’d never know it wasn’t the real deal.
I took it out with me one afternoon at the mall last month and in 2 hours, 3 young gals were telling me how much they LOVED my bag, was it vintage?!
I told my husband that I own 3 beautiful real luxury bags, but only one comment ever on any of them (in my defense, I don’t use them very much like I should, always keeping for special occasions which I shouldn’t…use the stuff!) But my fake one gets all the attention. Lol!
So, these things made me feel fashionable I guess, but I’m really struggling with this question as I don’t really feel young inside anymore.
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I think sometimes we use the word “young” as a synonym for “happy and full of life.” I struggle with how to maintain those feelings too–but I do know that I am much happier when I don’t fall for our culture’s worship of youth, and I keep it in mind that some of the people I admire most are those who have found ways to stay as healthy and happy as possible into their 70s. Even older people I know in their 80s, most of whom experience health problems and more limited movement, have had vastly different levels of happiness based on their attitudes and priorities. My grandmother at 90 was limited to sitting around for the most part, but when she started losing her physical abilities, she turned her energy toward being with others, being supportive. and helping them be happier. I aspire to this generosity!
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What a wonderful attitude! I will remember that. I don’t want to be a grumpy old woman!
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Ah, yes. Ok, I guess I feel young when I travel. I love to get up early, do as much as I can during the day. Then I’m a bar fly at night. We love elegant bars and make it a point to find then in any city we are in. I also love fashion and keep up with trends, so that makes me feel youthful.
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I smiled when recently encountering “eclectic grandpa” style term.
When skiing this week my base layer was a long sleeved “waffle” (textured, thermal) undershirt my grandfather wore in the nursing home…. with his name / room number written inside the neckline. After my Dad got it, he raved about the warmth and breathability while skiing. LOL - perhaps I didn’t need to cover it… tis true Pop M grandpa style.
In line with this thread topic, skiing definitely made me feel young! (Would be even more fun with hubby - he has a bad back and opts to do his photo hobby while I’m on the slopes. I am thankful that he likes to drive.)
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I am a Home Healthcare Professional and work with patients in their homes. If I had to guess, the median age of my patients is around 80-85. I learn so much from them and aspire to age gracefully and if I live a long life, to do so with as much health and happiness as possible.
I have had several patients who are over 100 and in reasonably good shape. One gentleman (at 108!) is still walking with a cane and joyful about tending to his birds every day. These amazing people of course have some good genes, but their real secret seems to be to not mourn the things they can no longer do, but to be happy with the things that are still possible. And to do something that cares for others.
Funny story: I saw a lovely lady who was 101 at the time and recently discharged from the hospital. This lady was amazing…still driving (a little) at 99, still walking and making her own breakfast at 101. But she was complaining that the dietitian at the hospital told her she needed to change what she was eating for breakfast. I told her, “When you are 101, you should be telling the dietician what to eat for breakfast!”
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Skiing also makes me feel young especially when I am passing those younger than I am on the slopes and I have much better form
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LOL - I wish I had better form. But the good thing is I have a decent balance and a lot of muscle memory (53 year of skiing, only missed a few seasons). Also I’ve always liked a slow pace and caution on the lifts. So I don’t fall much - that’s probably key to keeping me on the slopes.
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I “retired” last year at age 60 (quotation marks because maybe I’m just in an intermission from paid work; I honestly don’t know yet). In taking craft workshops, exercise classes, volunteering with other, mostly older, retirees and listening to their conversations I’ve realized how much the people I might previously have dismissed, ignored, thought of as sitting in their homes watching daytime television all day are actually engaged in and running the world. It has been an awakening for me. And a good lesson for my future.
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