What Quitting Coffee Taught Me About Savoring Life
My coffee habit developed in my mid-20s. I was working at the time as a reporter in Central America, where they produce some of the world's finest beans. A local friend taught me to drink it strong and black, with plenty of sugar.
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Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
"It's Bizarre And Difficult To Explain": Millennials Are Sharing The Exact Moment They Experienced "The Shift"
Aging is supposed to be a slow, gradual thing, not something that hits you like a truck. But for many of us, there's one moment in particular when time suddenly feels like it speeds up. It's not about gray hairs or sore knees (though, yeah, those might show up too), but more about a shift in how you see yourself and your place in the world. When u/AtG8605 asked others to share the moment they felt the Shift — that point when you stop feeling young and realize you've officially moved into a new stage of life — the responses were both hilarious and deeply relatable. Here's what people said: 1."For me, it happened around three years ago after I hit 35. Not exactly overnight, but it happened a lot more suddenly than I would have expected. If I had to pin it down to one moment, it would have to be a doctor's appointment I went to in 2022. I was a new patient at this particular office. The doctor walked into the room. I took one look at him and thought, OK, this guy looks really young. Must be a medical assistant or intern or something. Nope. He was my doctor. Through casual conversation, I would come to find out that he was 33 years doctor was two years younger than me. From there, it was like an ever-evolving perspective shift. I'd be watching the local news and realize how incredibly young everyone looked — the reporters, the meteorologists, etc. I started noticing how young the faces looked on billboards for local attorneys and realtors." "It's so bizarre and difficult to explain. Logically, I know that people younger than me can be in all of these professions, but my brain just can't seem to grasp the jarring reality that the cohort of 'grown-ups' now includes people who seem so young to me." —u/AtG8605 2."For me, it was one event. I work as a firefighter. We got a new batch of recruits in, in their early 20s, doing some on-the-job training, and one of them says, 'You know, I remember you. You came to my school for career day in fourth grade!' I felt my body disassemble itself. I looked in the mirror later and just realized that I was older." —u/grim_wizard 3."Remember those old people who used to come hang out every once in a while with your mom and dad? That's you. It's amazing how I used to associate those old people with tight pants that go all the way up to their belly — and I'm wearing that stuff now, and the kids are wearing baggy stuff again." —u/XOM_CVX 4."Older millennial. I had this realization, but the good version. My parents' friends seemed much cooler than my parents because many lived in a nearby city and worked as researchers or university professors. My parents were hippies who chose to live in the middle of nowhere as broke farmers, and these people were sort of their counterparts who had money and regular jobs. We'd go visit some of them in town, and I just loved their lives. One day, when I was 40, as I was riding to my engineering job on my road bike, dressed like an absolute weirdo, I realized that I had become exactly like my parents' friends, whom I thought were cool, right down to the nerdy job and the road bike. Never been happier with any realization." —u/whatsmyname81 5."I told my coworker a document was written in 1995, and she said she wasn't even born yet. A piece of my soul died." —u/Special-Summer170 6."I'm working with people now who don't remember 9/11 because they were infants or not born yet. I hate having to stop and think if the people I'm talking to will have enough context to understand what I'm about to say before I say everything." —u/sasquatch_melee 7."I am a former professor, and it was the transition from students not being alive for Clinton's presidency to not being alive for 9/11 that really did me in. My pop culture references also all died on arrival." —u/Outrageous_Cod_8961 8."I was at the ophthalmologist's and realized that my doctor — who was clearly older than me, given his smile lines and the white hairs in his beard — was exactly my age. We went to the same university and started and graduated in the same years. No, he was not a 'later in life' student. I'm just at the age where a peer has been a whole-ass doctor for 10-plus years." —u/Kmille17 9."I went back home to visit family. While there, I went to a store and saw a middle-aged lady struggling to reach something on a shelf. I went to help her, made eye contact, and realized this 'older' lady was someone that I went to school with — and who was a year younger than me. That messed up my brain for a bit." —u/Panama_Scoot 10."When professional sports players started to get younger than me. 'A 20-year-old kid playing professional hockey,' I told my husband, 'is an actual child, not a grown-up.'" —u/buttonhumper 11."The median age in the United States is 38.7 years, so once you pass that point, you are literally older than most people." —u/onemanutopia 12."An old high school classmate was my doctor and Trader Joe's was playing Korn." —u/misfitx 13."I'm 35 and just had this realization. I realized that my coworker — whom I perceived to be a kid — is 25 and a full-blown adult. I'm more adultier adult. Wild times." —u/rando_bowner 14."I'm 38, and my husband is 39. A few weeks ago, he commented that cops have gotten so much younger, and I had to correct him. They're starting at the same age they always did — we're just older. I pushed my husband into the shift, but I think it was time." —u/Complex_Priority4983 15."I just hit 40, and it's been about four years, probably. Working in an environment where I routinely see grandmothers in their mid-to-late 30s will do that to you. Especially since we don't have our own children, it's an extra mindfuck." —u/JennaLS 16."Sports will help with that. The players you grew up watching have retired and become managers or pundits. Players who made their debut when you were a teenager are now retiring. New wunderkinds are starting, and you were a teenager when they were born, etc." —u/pajamakitten 17."Someone asked if the baby in the photo on my desk was my grandbaby. Reader, it was my baby. My first baby. My four-month-old baby." —u/cafe-aulait 18."30. It suddenly occurred to me the other day that I'm no longer an excellent judge of ages. Anyone younger than 30 might as well be 12. Anyone older than 30 could be any age — I have no idea." —u/electricsnowflake 19."It was probably right after COVID happened, when I was 31. I live in New York City. I just started noticing that the people hanging out at all the trendy spots were no longer just millennials. But honestly, I think it would have taken me longer to notice if the media didn't all of a sudden start talking about Gen Z. I'm waiting for the second shift when Gen Alpha comes up in five years." —u/Mediocre-Theory3151 20."I was watching the first season of That '70s Show and couldn't believe how young Jackie looked. All of the sex jokes with her just felt icky. She looked like a child. I don't remember ever having those thoughts when I watched the show in high school." —u/Whirlywynd 21."For me, it was maybe a few years back. I noticed newer artists I was listening to were really young. Like, Olivia Rodrigo is 22. When I was 22, that was a normal age for a pop star to me, but now I just think she's so young." —u/DaisyFart 22."Yep. I'm 37. I work with several engineers who are a decade younger than me. The most important person in my facility — who makes many of the big decisions — is a decade younger than me. I have also heard Nirvana on the local classic rock station." —u/Deivi_tTerra 23."1988 millennial. I hate it when kids talk about the past. 'That happened in 2018, that was so long ago.' To me, it only seems like a couple of years ago. Then I realize that seven years is half their lifetime." —u/Optimassacre 24."I'm 40 years old and work for the VA. When we see patients who were born when I was in high school, it blows my mind. 'What do you mean, you're a veteran? You shouldn't even be old enough to drive.'" —u/KixStar 25."I'm a teacher. Around COVID, I just couldn't relate to the kids anymore. It started with quoting lyrics and movies that no one understood. Also, most of them have never seen Endgame? One time, on a field trip, I dressed casually, and they said I looked like their aunt at a barbecue. I mean, I'm adjusting, but damn, it's obvious these are a different sort of people. Also, when they started wearing socks with sandals, I was appalled. That was a major fashion faux pas. Literally 80 percent of kids wear that stuff — or they wear genuine cowboy boots. How the hell are we not wearing sneakers? What's wrong with sneakers!?" —u/OctopusUniverse 26."I went to hang out with my cousin and her kids for the weekend. The clock struck 9, and the kids went to bed. The house was quiet. We drank wine and talked shit for a while, shooing one or two of them back to bed when they tried to sneak out and stay up late. Suddenly, it dawned on me that I was the mysterious adult doing super fun and mysterious things after kids' bedtime." —u/NOT_Pam_Beesley Have you experienced your own version of the Shift? What moment made you realize you'd crossed that invisible line? Share your story in the comments below! Note: Responses have been edited for length/clarity. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Dear Abby: My friend has become mean since getting diagnosed with Alzheimer's
DEAR ABBY: An old friend of 50 years has recently been diagnosed with early Alzheimer's. She's still conducting her life as usual, driving and taking care of her banking, etc. However, she has lost her filter and talks to me about my figure ('Your thighs are shockingly thin'), and also my health ('Are you going to die? My mother had a cough like that, and she died'). I am struggling to control my anger at her presumptuousness and holding myself back from some very apt and mean comebacks. I don't seem to be able to let this go. I don't want to abandon her during this time (I took care of my husband with dementia for 17 years), but at the same time, I don't need to spend weeks spinning after her insensitive and cruel comments. Any ideas? — INSULTED IN SAN FRANCISCO DEAR INSULTED: If your friend is still well enough to 'conduct her life as usual,' she is also well enough to be told that you don't appreciate her comments. You don't have to jump down her throat, but do tell her that if they don't stop, she will be seeing less of you. When her Alzheimer's worsens, you may have to repeat it or redirect the conversation away from you. DEAR ABBY: My parents got into an argument because my father saw my mother looking at an old photo of herself from when she was younger. (It had been sent by her cousin via text.) In it, she was sitting next to 'an ex-boyfriend or friend.' My father thought it was disrespectful, but my mother didn't agree. Mom thought it was trivial for him to get upset since she was only 18 or 19 and the photo was taken 45 years ago. It was way before my mother had even met my father. Later, she mentioned to Dad that she remembered seeing an old picture of him and his ex-wife dressed up for a concert. He denied it, and she didn't get upset. She told me later she doesn't regret receiving the picture because she no longer has romantic feelings for my father. You see, my parents are not legally married; they are just roommates splitting the bills together. I don't know how to feel about this. I don't want to be involved, but they both have come to me separately expressing their feelings about it. What are your thoughts? — IN THE MIDDLE IN TEXAS DEAR IN THE MIDDLE: I suspect that your father was less upset about the arrival of that 45-year-old photo than he is about the fact that your mother no longer has romantic feelings for him. I also think you should stay out of this and no longer allow yourself to be put in the middle, which is what your parents are trying to do. Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Honduras mandates face masks again as respiratory illnesses spike
Honduras mandates face masks again as respiratory illnesses spike TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) -Over five years after the COVID-19 outbreak, Honduras has reinstated mandatory mask wearing in public spaces amid a spike in respiratory illnesses and as a variant of the virus spreads through the Central American country. Honduras' health ministry confirmed two deaths from the virus this week, among patients with underlying health conditions, bringing the country's total in 2025 to six. "We have already surpassed last year's infection limit; there are currently five people admitted to Hospital Escuela with suspected COVID-19," said the head of Health Surveillance, Lorenzo Pavon. Official data showed that from January to July last year, 596 COVID-19 cases were reported, while this year 654 cases have been recorded in the same period. The temporary measures, which took effect on Thursday, make masks obligatory in hospitals, airports, shopping centers, banks, schools, public transport, and other enclosed or crowded spaces. The government also ordered temporary work-from-home for state institutions. Authorities are urging the public to complete their COVID-19 and influenza vaccination schedules and to seek medical advice for respiratory symptoms. Frequent hand washing and the use of antibacterial gel continue to be recommended measures. Officials also warned that they will maintain monitoring of variants and will reinforce public information campaigns. The Ministry of Health reiterated that it will continuously evaluate the epidemiological situation and warned that the measures could be expanded if the number of infections continues to rise. Solve the daily Crossword
