Help, I'm going pre-middle aged crazy...I'm today 38 and holding :(

Estil

https://youtu.be/8TeOuQZRo64

https://youtu.be/waHfFygWO1M

So today I'm now 38 and holding...and while I doubt I'll do the stereotypical mid-life crisis things like get a sports car (for mental/emotional health reasons I don't have a drivers license; long story short it wouldn't be safe for me to attempt driving) with a young chick inside (though in Jerry's case he infamously got one that wasn't even close to being ripe for picking), it is kinda hitting me in the sense that I wonder if I'll get to experience all the things I want to experience, like all the blue chip video games, and books (like those reference yearbooks/learning history and such) and getting to collect all the baseball cards I'd like (I'd love to someday do 60s Topps sets but right now I don't know if I can even afford early 70s, like the classic 1971 black beauties). I know some have told me that I'm still "just a pup" but I'm not so sure about that. I was "just a pup" in my college days (early 2000s) and when I got hitched (2005) but that just seems so long ago now and it really shouldn't be.

Still even if I never get to achieve my dream (that I've had since I started collecting) of being able to do 60s/50s Topps sets (at least early 70s may be somewhat within reach)...there's nothing wrong with what I have been able to collect over the years right? That goes for not just cards but my vintage games and reference books and UK books (like the Cats Pauses and Media Guides and so on) right?

I guess it's like John Wooden once said, don't let what I can't do bother me too much...just focus on doing what I CAN do...both with my hobbies and life in general.

craig44

dont sweat it too bad. I just turned 40 and it did take me a bit to wrap my head around that, but its really no big deal. you will most likely have many more years to improve on your collection. Just be happy with what you have and realize it is not a competition.

1951WheatiesPremium

Happy Birthday!

Why not flip the script! You've got many treasures; pick your favorites, sell the rest (to someone else who'd likely be delighted to have them) and then get what you're after - 50s, 60s, 70s, beach house, new car, whatever! Only one lifetime but you can have it all - just maybe can't have it all forever, which let's face it you can't do anyway...

...we're the same age, if it helps. Good luck!

Estil

I guess that's the price I pay for having more than one collecting sort of hobby! But seriously most of my collectibles aren't exactly the kind you can easily flip for over a hundred dollars or something...so when I get something for my collection of cards, games, books, whatever...it's probably gonna be for keeps.

Shoot, my retro game consoles even have special "Everdrive" cartridges (look them up at stoneagegamer.com) that allow me to play virtually EVERY game from that console (even imports or hacks/demos/whatever) known to exist (and it runs on the original hardware so it works just as good as the real cartridge)...yet I still wish to keep my collection of retro games (especially NES/SNES because I like having the best of both worlds!).

Downtown1974

You have plenty of time to get the “wants”. In the mean time, focus on the “needs” in your life. I have found life gets easier, the older you get...provided you stay healthy. The older you get, the more the mortgage shrinks, your pay ideally trends upward, the kids get older and start lives of there own. Look at guys like Mike (stone)...retired and enjoying a lifetime of hard work. That will be us someday too, we’re just not there yet.
Happy Birthday!!!

Dpeck100

I am 38 too and having more fun than I did at 28.

Forget about the number and just try and enjoy life.

Happy Birthday.

Estil

Well when Back to the Future 2 came out in 1989 (I was nine years old at the time) I was so excited about "the future" (which at that time especially for a kid 2015 was waaaaaay far off). You know 2020 (when I reach the f-word) is when the second to last TMNT Turtles in Time level occurs as well as Super Baseball 2020 (I don't think that's gonna happen). So I guess I am also curious to see what things we'll have in 2020 in terms of technology and such.

shu4040

::drinks a rye and nods approvingly::

37 turning 38 here in 2 mos

Arsenal83

@Dpeck100 said:
I am 38 too and having more fun than I did at 28.

Forget about the number and just try and enjoy life.

Happy Birthday.

I'm also 38, but 28 was amazing. Either you did it wrong then, or I'm doing it wrong now. Lol

SpinFadeSplash23

When I turned 42 and it was a brutal realization that my parents were old and one day, they will die. It just hit me more than ever. Something changed in me that is hard to put into words, other than an awakening of a true, raw sense of our mortality. Ever since that day, I made a substantial push to accomplish everything I wanted in this life. I even wrote down ten goals on a sheet of paper, signed & dated it and push-pinned it on the wall in my office. Do all you can, while you can.

grote15

38? Man, you're still a kid, lol..

Estil

@grote15 said:
38? Man, you're still a kid, lol..

Don't I wish...

Dboneesq

And KENTUCKY played like THAT for your Birthday????

BLUEJAYWAY

Enjoy your youth while you can. I knew I was old when people started to address me as "Sir". Also, when I went into a music store once and asked "Where are the 45's"? (Records). The clerk replied "What are those".

BillyKingsley

Happy birthday. I'm 34 but I am feeling much like you are in the first post, my health has never been great, and it doesn't allow me to drive either, or do most of the things I want to do. I know that I will never be able to achieve my dreams no matter what, and it's not really a fun thought.

If I didn't have my hobbies I would truly have no reason to get out of bed each day. Luckily, I was able to build large collections of stuff in the 90s and early 2000s when I was able to. Those collections keep me going and I still add what I can, even though I generally average about $30 a month which I try to split across 6 hobbies.

rcmb3220

Turning 42 in about a week. I was 13 when my dad was 42. He seemed so old then.

JoeBanzai

Don't worry you'll get older. Met the woman of my dreams at 59, life has NEVER been better. Children from my past were fun, but they grow up and leave home!

Estil

That reminds me, my darling little kitty Jamiee will be six calendar years old this July 14...which would make him 40 in cat years (start with 24 at two calendar years old and add one for every quarter)...and it doesn't seem to bother him none right? You know my best friend sure can teach me a thing or two!

Estil

@Dboneesq said:
And KENTUCKY played like THAT for your Birthday????

At least when I just became barely legal (3/22/98) we had one of the most fantastic exciting games in our history (look it up). But yeah it serves us right for now making our free throws doesn't it? I guess like Charlie in the Box would say, I guess those missed free throws were just too much for us...I might as well go to bed and start dreaming about next season...

But in all seriousness, we'll get everyone back (no seniors) unless they're actually nuts enough to try for the big leagues (maybe Knox and Alex might have a chance but I'm not so sure about the others) and with our diaper dandies also joining us, we'll be ready for the last season of this decade right?