I used to love playing hockey when I was younger.
I played in recreational leagues from the time I was 16 until I was 22.
And then, of course, life got busier and I couldn’t commit to showing up one night a week because of work schedules, so I didn’t play for a while.
Fast forward about 15 years, I got asked to join a hockey team in Kansas City. Sure! Sounds great!
I have to say, it was still kind of fun and definitely good exercise, but this old man was hurting after every game and definitely having a hard time keeping up with the youngsters.
I still go skate and play in pick-up games here and there, but I think that season might have been my last, sadly…
Folks on AskReddit talked about what they had to give up because they got too old for it. Let’s see what they had to say.
1. It hurts!
“Rollercoasters.
I used to go with my dad and we would ride all of them at the park, back to back.
These days it just hurts my bones and gives me a headache that takes hours to get rid of.”
2. The best!
“Water Balloons.
Water Balloons were at the core of some of my favorite summer moments growing up.
As I’ve transitioned from a Summer Camp Counselor to Mental Health Counselor though, water balloons have lost of lot of their utility.”
3. Not enough time.
“Video games……I have less time each year, the games require more knowledge and input than they ever did.
And a lot of games have so much bullsh*t attached that logging in and playing for 30 mins you might have is a waste of time.
I still play some, but it’s getting less, but to be fair I am 50 this year, so maybe I am winning still.”
4. Go easy on that stuff.
“Candy and soda.
I still eat sugar, but at much lower doses and I’m way more picky with it.
Candy and soda just makes me crash hard now.”
5. Good times…
“Playing with action figures.
I had giant storylines for all my action figures, I’d spend hours and hours fighting them and writing down statistics.”
6. Try to be a lifelong learner!
“Learning.
I didn’t realize it at the time but I really thrived during high school and college when I was constantly pushing myself with fun and challenging classes, learning new things every day that I might not have otherwise been interested in.
Now I’m out in the adult world and with my full time job, my freelancing work on the side, the grocery shopping and the cooking and the cleaning and whatever else I have to do, there’s just no time to learn for the sake of learning. If I ever come across that time, it’s best spent taking an online class that will keep my skills for my freelance work sharp and up to date with changing technology.
I feel like my brain has suffered for it too, because most days I feel incredibly dumb, despite being at the top of my class in college.”
7. Punk no more.
“Playing in punk bands.
At some point I realized I was a grown man surrounded by children and it was time to call it.”
8. Don’t want that to happen.
“I love Lego, and of course any adult can play with/buy them, but I live in Florida.
A few years ago Legoland opened up, not that close to me but certainly a half-day drive. I was initially so excited, but then I realized I can’t go.”
I know me, and I don’t trust me, and I know full that once the gates started to close I would be so engrossed in the Legos playing and I would scoff at any notion I had to leave.
Then I’d be on the news as a 30 something old man was arrested for refusing to leave Legoland and was dragged out kicking and screaming.”
9. Don’t connect anymore.
“Reading books that revolve around people in late high school or early college.
I’m a big romance novel fan, and coming-of-age is a HUGE subgenre of books. It used to be my favorite and 90% of what I read.
Now it feels distant. I don’t connect to it anymore. It feels icky to read about their physical relationships.
Unless something is particularly good or has some sort of social relevance, I’m buying fewer and fewer of them every year.”
10. So fun!
“Playing on a trampoline.
My favorite thing to do as a kid.
Now a home owner, I buy one for my backyard, and now my neighbours kids just stare at me while I use it and I get super uncomfortable and go inside.”
11. Fun in the outdoors.
“Spending hours playing in the creek in the woods on our backyard.
I could spend an entire day in .5 square mile, just pretending I cross that creek into other worlds. I would never have time now, but maybe when I’m older…
How would y’all feel about an eccentrically dressed old lady hopping along rock and downed trees in your nearby creeks?”
12. Shamed.
“Barbie dolls.
My best friend and I secretly played with them all the way up to 7th grade, until my 12th grade sister shamed me for it.
I’m in my 40s now and to this day, when I see a Barbie doll, I still have the urge to dress her or brush her hair.”
13. The joy of riding.
“Bike riding.
I used to love cycling around the neighborhood on nice days but by the time I was 12, I had to give it up as my parents were concerned about me being open to ridicule for still having training/stability wheels.
I have balance/ equilibrium issues due to being deaf and the extra wheels helped me immensely but nowadays, as a 33 year old adult, my only option to get back cycling is to buy an Adult Trike.
NGL, they look awesome and I’d love to get one but I don’t have the space and the folding models are pretty d*mn expensive.”
Did you ever have to give up something that you loved because you got too old for it?
If so, tell us all about it in the comments.
Please and thank you!
