i feel yer pain, lady. i can't believe how much i've aged in the last 4 years.  gray hair, wrinkles, sagging...but i'm a hellava lot better looking than most of the men in my "age range" too bad they're all looking for chicks under 38!

Steeped in my thirties and thoroughly engaged, this is the first time in my life I've been ruthlessly pursued by men in their twenties.  With dark circles and a big ass still bouncing but on the cusp of being dispirited, I realize the fantasy supersedes the reality.  I want to be the hot bitch at the grocery store, but no longer have the strength to manifest this character over an extended period of time.  As long as I don't have to act on it, I am content to be the bag boy's wet dream.  

Once this semester I got mistaken for a student's mom by some freshman girls (who looked like they were about 12, I swear) so in a similar way, I feel your pain.

looks hm?

that what fantasies, and light switches are for. as long as he/she makes you smile--close your eyes and that out of shape dude becomes hot one.

as far as you go dear AHG i would keep the lights on and eyes wide open.

so there

Firstly, anybody who would take you for a granny would be measuring me for a casket!  

Secondly, people are far too hung up on this fountain of youth thing.  I'm 47, and look 47.  Some guys my age look better.  Some look worse.  All of them seem to get really bent out of shape when I call myself middle aged, like saying it will put them that much further into the grave.  Own it.  It's all good.  If it mattered that much to me I'd be doing squat thrusts instead of writing this.  

By the way, my ex-wife was almost 28 when my first son was born in Beth Israel.  She was the youngest woman in the maternity ward by an average of 10 year or so.  When my second son was born in Methodist in Brooklyn just 2 years later, she wss one of the oldest women in there.  Some of the girls in there were on their 2nd, 3rd and 4th.  

Related--people who lie about their age on profiles are soooo common.  Women have said they fib because it puts them in more searches.  I've seen men claim they shave a few years off their desired age range because so many women lie about their ages.  Seems to me it would be easier if everybody just tells the truth.  Or maybe age should be taken off the criteria list altogether if nobody is going to be honest?  

Anyway, you're the last person that needs to worry about looking old.

I really think people are staying younger longer nowadays.  I look at photos of my parents when they were my age (and even younger), and they look ancient.  I don't think I look 45, but I can feel it in my joints and muscles.  I do worry about being spry enough to keep up with my son (as it stands now, I'll be paying college tuition when I'm collecting social security), but other than taking off the weight I've put on (I eat when I'm happy, and this has been the happiest year of my life), I'm not sure what else I can do.  I sure as hell wouldn't want to be 30 again.

The reason the profiles of the guys in their 40s look like old farts is because they're 55.

Well, I think you look beautiful in that photo. And also very much your age, if not younger. I don't know what that lady was on but you don't live in the backwoods of Alabama; a mother your age with young children should not be a shocking sight. Also, remember, that average gets brought down by teenage pregnancies (I don't remember exactly what percentage of children are born to teenagers in this country but it's quite high, thanks our wonderful government funded abstinence non-education.). And, you know, Mormons and stuff.

As for guys in the their forties, I don't know, Barack is looking pretty sexy at 47. :-P Also, are there any other Hugh Laurie fans here who agree that he didn't get hot UNTIL his forties? In Blackadder and Jeeves and Wooster he's kind of scrawny and nerdy-looking. But as Dr. House--yowza! These are famous people of course but, hey, just saying...

Personally, Sean Connery never did it for me. My Hot Old Fart List includes Sam Waterston (Oh Jack McCoy--come to me), Paul Newman (right up until he died!) and, naturally, Sting.