Getting older.

[Maria 60]

My wife was questioning me on why I'm not getting into my normal activities, usually in the spring I'm working on my car or doing something in the yard and I haven't even been dressing lately. I told her it's getting harder to work on my car because I'm losing my sight more and more everyday and with wearing byfolcal glasses and working in tight positions it gets frustrating. I feel I don't have that patients anymore with the yard and I get tired and muscle pains more often.
With the dressing besides wearing pantyhose and panties it's not worth the cleanup for a few hours of dressing. I guess it comes with age and we just start losiing our patients. Anyone feeling this with me?

[bridget thronton]

Yes - but for me it is more feeling weary due to the routine pressures at work (I am 72 and plan to only work 3 more years). Dressing is less than I would like but still 2 or 3 days a week.

[Maid_Marion]

Yes. I wear three different single prescription glasses. Reading, computer, and driving/distance!

Working in the yard is more like a marathon these days. Slow and steady gets the job done!
I'll forget that I was going to do but over the course of a few hours I'll eventually remember and get it done!

Reorganizing my house. I had a drawer with a set of tools in the kitchen for emergencies. That went away a few days ago.
I'm retired and do stuff at my pace. What used to be emergencies can often wait since I'm living by myself!

I have a pink computer workstation.
I leave notes on the keyboard as reminders of Doctor's appointments!
I put the notes on my old business cards!

But, I'm getting a ton of stuff done as a I can focus on what I'm doing and properly sequence what needs to be done.
My boss always used to put stuff off and expect me to do everything at the last moment.

[SylphDevine]

I'm 70 and I still do everything normally. Even e-bike 20 miles a day 3 times a week.

I also wear at least a pair of panties, a bra, a slip, stockings and a twinkly dress at least once a day.

Along with everything else. Age is a number. I'm still an 18 year old girl in my head.

[kimdl93]

At 71, I am definitely pacing myself more and finally accepting that some tasks require help. On the other hand, I have to tell you that after cataract surgery I have the best overall vision of my life, and seldom need reading glasses.

What I have noticed is that while I dress however and whenever I want, I am not as motivated to go out anymore. Not even close.

[Dani0948]

At 75, I try to dress as often as I can. I'm in a DADT with my wife, but I still get out, to walk the dog in girl mode 3 or more times a week. I also walk about 5 miles in guy mode every morning. I know I'm slowing down, but I won't give up the fight any time soon.

[Glenda58]

At 76 years old yard work is a 2-day job mow 1 day trim the next. Working on the truck is a 1day job. And try to read the computer with one good eye and with wet AD. As far as dressing I wear shorts and tees when it's warm Jeans and sweats when it's cool. Bra and panties always. but dressing up is hard just to sit at home. And putting on makeup with one good eye is a pain in the butt. Having to redo over and over to get right.

[OrdinaryAverageGuy]

I get the vision stresses. I have readers everywhere and bifocals for flying. Can't live without them. And I'm only in my 50's!

On the other hand, little things aren't bothering me like they used to. Today I was walking around the airport barefoot refueling and tying down with no regard to my red toenails or my anklet, if anyone noticed they didn't react.

[docrobbysherry]

I'm over 80, just returned from a week of late nites, dressing every day, at the T event, WS in Vegas.:)

To me, you're as old as u feel. And, I feel good! Because I'm lucky, watch my diet, and do a set of exersizes that include stretching and 200 crunches every morning!:doh:

Yes, my hands, eyes, and ears are aging. But, I'm still very active for a closet CD.:heehee:

I go out to T events often but dress for outings or shoots only. Being just a CD is lucky because I don't need to dress as often as u T's do!:battingeyelashes:

[GretchenM]

I know what you mean Maria and I hope you enjoyed reading the accounts of others here as much as I have. It is a bit reassuring to read that others have similar problems with aging. I just recently turned 79 (I am catching up with you Sherri :straightface: :)). And as a prostate cancer patient for the second time around life gets difficult. But I am still able to do many of the things I used to do - just far less quickly. I need to nap a lot thanks to medications I am taking and sometimes that is frustrating. My sense of self, libido, muscle strength, 15 to 25 hot flashes a day and related personality characteristics associated with identity, on a scale of 1 to 100 are at about 2 and sometimes rise all the way to 5. It is a life missing so many of the things that normally provide us with a sense of who we are. But I still enjoy life even though it is slower out of necessity. I really hope my identity comes back; it is too strange not having one that is in the least bit identifiable. "Gretchen, come back!" It is a weird life when you are missing a major hormone because its presence will kill me. Just goes to show how much hormones affect some of the major aspects of our lives. It normally declines with age but when it is undetectable life can get very strange. You want gender feelings but they never happen.

[insearchofme]

To all of you who are having trouble with their eye sight let me suggest something. Please go to your eye doctor and be checked for cataracts. Everyone will develop them if they live long enough. Cataract surgery is the most requested surgery in the country today and has the highest satisfaction rate. It is quite life changing! Please be evaluated!

[Sandi Beech]

I do not really mind so much that I have to do things at a slower pace. Aches and pains are increasing but not too bad. More than anything, I wish I could go back to a more youthful look when it comes to CDing. I guess I am hung up on being a pretty young woman and it is getting a lot more difficult to achieve the look I wish to have.

Sandi

[danniUK]

Sandi - I've accepted the fact that, having admitted to myself later in life that I'm a CDer, I'll only ever be a "slightly older girl". That's not to say I don't wish that I'd realised and fully embraced who I am earlier in life; I've always had a slightly "weedy" but tall frame that I was almost embarrassed about as a guy, which I now realise would have made an absolutely stunning girl if I'd dressed properly in my 20s!

[Philippa Jane]

At 71 I am still fit and healthy.
A lot of the things other are experiencing ,tired, slowing down and generally looking at life differently is a part of aging.
I am at the gym 3 times each week and put in 2 to 3 hours with weights and cardio.
My lawns will take me about an hour and sometime I don't feel like doing it. My neighbour will often decide to do it for me. I have made everything around the house as minimal as possible because I have little interest in doing anything.
I live in three rooms of this eleven room house. I should downsize but I love where I live.

Some days I do have a little nap in the afternoon but this can mess up my sleep pattern.
Many years ago I had lens implants and they had been so good as I rarely have any changes in my glasses.
I would be devastated to lose my eyesight.

I am; at this stage of my life still thinking like a (let's be generous) 40 year old.
I would love to say younger but then I would be dreaming.
I am making up for lost time and we never know how much time we have left.
Make every day count.

[Jane G]

My wife still works part time. Today, as she was straightening her hair for work I commented something, I don't quite recall exactly what, then immediately had to comment that she is still naturally beautiful, I got a look for that one. Basically it takes a chunk of work to get the look these days. For both of us.

[Cheryl T]

Age does take its toll on us and with it the things we like to do.
It hasn't affected my dressing yet, but it has made yard work and other chores more difficult and therefore less enjoyable.

[GracieRose]

I'm turning 70 next week and I'm still doing doing the yard work, etc. I'm just doing it at a slower pace, and I've accepted that I don't get as much done as I used to. I've started to outsource the car work that requires more stamina, however I am changing out a clutch hydraulic slave cylinder later this week and I still change my oil. However, getting down on the creeper and back up seems to take more planning and effort that it used to. Dressing is still well worth the effort, to me. I did our grocery shopping and stopped at Panera for lunch today en-femme. So very enjoyable.

[Debbie Denier]

Agree Maria feel exactly the same. Sometimes less is more . I don?t dress as often as I used to and it can seem like too much trouble but when I do. It is a moment to savour.

[NancySue]

Yep. Aging is not for the timid, but, as I always say, it beats the alternative. I?ve accepted the creaks and groaning. My primary fear is falling, consequently I move slower, more deliberately. So far, so good. My dressing continues except I?ve pretty much given up pantyhose, Awww. For thigh highs. I like them better anyway.

[CynthiaD]

I don’t wear makeup as much as before, but I dress fully en femme every day, with lipstick about half the time and with nail polish occasionally. Female clothing is my regular clothes.

[CharlotteCD]

This thread has made me pause and think somewhat more about my lifestyle choices, my diet etc. It's great seeing so many people in their 70's who are active on the forum and still dressing. It gives me hope as I am pretty much half way to 70.

[Stephanie47]

Maria, I know the feeling. Last year one of my doctors said "For a man your age (76) you're in remarkably good health!" Yes, there are little reminders of the aging process, but, if you "act your age" and ask for help you can avoid some of the aches and pains. Yesterday I finally got to the backyard to do some long deferred cleanup due to the raining weather. Boy, grass can get way too long! I am with you with getting dolled up for a brief session. I use to call it "grabbing at some crumbs of time." Sometimes it was an hour or two. It was just not worth the effort and hurried pace. When I retired and my wife was still working full days, part-time I had six or seven hours to emulate June Cleaver and do all sorts of domestic chores. Now, she is full retired. We sleep apart for medical reasons and she is a late sleeper and I an early riser. So, every night, like last night I sleep in fem attire. I am keyboarding still in my night attire which is a bra and panty set under a white long nylon night gown.

[Susan_Michaela]

Marie 60, Hi I?m 71 will be 72 next month and at 65 years old had similar issues with my vision. I went to hospital for checkup and they did an eye exam on me there and sent me to an eye doctor across the street from the hospital. They told me I had cateracts and scheduled me for surgery two weeks later when the surgery date came they only did one eye at a time and the other two weeks later I was really surprised afterwards I was near sighted before and after I now have 20/20 distance vision now but have to use readers for close up vision. Could have gotten lenses implanted for $6 grand ridiculous price and no glasses whatsoever . anyway the main thing is getting it checked out losing your eyesight is no joking matter. Good luck

[Celine 9]

I myself will turn 60 in November. I still able to put on dresses, tank tops and related things of the nature. I don't want to get arthritis in my arms or anywhere on my body.

[cheryl]

I can relate. I'm 55 and I wear bifocals as well. As much as I love to dress I find it getting to be too much work. However, when I do push myself to do it the rush comes back! And I just want that feeling to stay.

[Geena75]

Age is such a conundrum. On one hand I know (or understand) things about myself better now than years ago, but it is harder to act on things. I feel tired more often, aches last longer, and taller heels make one of my knees ache. I can't lose weight as readily as I could just 10 years ago. My eyes are in a state of flux -- for years I had been nearsighted, but a few years ago I passed the eye test and no longer have glasses on my driver's license. I do need reading glasses now, not just for fine print -- go figure.

I mainly struggle keeping up with the heat. In a week or more of the 90's with lawn and garden work to do (with no AC in the house) so I've been trying to acclimate myself for a warm summer. I'm pretty good at sweating, but the sun felt brutal.

Dressing up for me is more driven by mood (and opportunity). I haven't dressed in weeks, any may not for a while due to the heat. I try not to think about it to keep the mood at bay.

[Sometimes Steffi]

My wife has this expression, "Growing old isn't for sissies."

I looked up the word sissies:

1. A soft, timid, or oversensitive person,

2. A boy or man viewed as being overly interested in things traditionally associated with women.

She meant the first definition, in that getting old is hard work; it's not for the timid.

But, I think it applies equally to the second definition.

I guess my main concern is how long I will be able to keep this up. Will I be able to continue to do it as long as I'm living independently? What about if/when I go to assisted living? Will I still be able to crossdress in a nursing home.

I didn't start all-out crossdressing until I was over 50, so I could never achieve the pretty girl look. Now that I'm over 70, I'm willing to accept the stately older woman look, and I try not to put on the makeup too heavy. But, I just saw that there is a very comely 71 year old woman competing for Miss (Mrs) Texas, so I guess there's still some hope.

[Lacey New]

Crossed that 70 bridge a couple of years ago. Still spend about an hour a day on the treadmill fast walking working up a sweat. Enjoy doing my yard work and being Mr. (Or occasionally Ms.) Fixit around the house. But seeing sometime - hopefully at least another 10 or more years out when a smaller residence and simpler lifestyle might be in order. And when I think about that, I wonder if a final purge goes with it.

[Melinda Jean]

I can definitely relate to what you are experiencing. Though it seems I'm the young one in this thread at 65 years old, I still enjoy working on my vehicles but it gets tougher as time goes on. My body just doesn't bend like it used to 30 or 40 years ago and the accompanying pain and muscle aches are a hassle . I also share your frustration with the vision challenges. I have to wear bifocals too and my vision changes constantly, mainly due to medications I have to take for various medical conditions. I have to go annually to my eye doctor for a checkup and my prescription always changes for the worse. I've been by the told doctor it's all part of getting old, though I refuse to think of myself as old!

That said I still have the patience to dress almost daily including doing my makeup and feeling pretty. It helps soothe all those aches and pains!

[CarlaWestin]

On the verge of 69 here. Retired and downsized @65. The giant house was more of an equity holder that would have been way too expensive to maintain as it aged.
Work life was constant motion and activity and retirement is full of landscaping and renovating. DADT but I have morning to myself and privacy. Had the whole place to myself for a week recently and although I planned a whole fem existence, a renovation project was the paramount accomplishment that consumed the time.

[kimjohnsoncd]

I can certainly relate as I see the 60's. How did I get here? Can or should I still wear that? Are those heels too high for someone my age, is that skirt too short. And wow I need a lot of makeup! But it is nice to be able to get old isn't it.

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So true.

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I think that Kim keeps me motivated to get to the gym, to move, to eat right and to stay healthy. To keep my figure!