Eh?

This one is the hardest
Wasn't expecting to become terminally ill

So I was sitting in my cubicle today, and I realized, ever since I started working, every single decade of my life has been worse than the decade before it. So that means that every single decade that you see me, that's in the worst decade of my life.

So far…

Most joyful, 20s

Hardest, 20s

Well there have only been 4 1/2.

0-10 was the 80's and i was a kid with upper middle class parents. So that kicked ass.

10-20's was mostly jr high and high school in the 90's and early college.

20-30's was college and starting a career, getting married and making lots of money.

30-40's was having kids. Starting business so that was fun.

40's has been Covid. Kids growing up. Working ass off. Getting old. So probably worst so far.

Tanya 93 said:

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This one is the hardest
Wasn't expecting to become terminally ill

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I don't know you, but I've "known" you for many years on TA.

Keep treading water until help arrives

Had a few hard years, but never a whole decade. Best years have been the last two.

Reframing my mindset to nothing is permanent and things will get better if you let them was big. Endure if you must, but persist.

The worst/hardest years of my life were in my 30s. But the best thing in my life also happened in my 30s, so I can't write off the whole decade. So far, my 40s are pretty great and have been very joyful.

Tanya 93 said:

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This one is the hardest
Wasn't expecting to become terminally ill

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Don't know you but know you here. T&P to you Tanya.

Worst, probably my 30s. My brother died unexpectedly, in a bad marriage, had an NPE.

Best, probably my 40s. I'm liberated, kids are bigger, have the house the way I want it, have better friends. Things are by no means perfect but it's alright

Umm what???

Tanya 93 said:

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This one is the hardest
Wasn't expecting to become terminally ill

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On a serious note, thoughts and prayers.


On ligther note, I am pretty sure my teens were the hardest...I was hard everyday.

30s can go to hell
40s looking strong

Jugstore Cowboy said:

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So I was sitting in my cubicle today, and I realized, ever since I started working, every single decade of my life has been worse than the decade before it. So that means that every single decade that you see me, that's in the worst decade of my life.

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The troll in me laughed when I read this

40s for both, but i never expected to live past 40 so i don't really know what i expected. So far the first 6 months of my 50s has been total ass. Yay.

Jugstore Cowboy said:

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So I was sitting in my cubicle today, and I realized, ever since I started working, every single decade of my life has been worse than the decade before it. So that means that every single decade that you see me, that's in the worst decade of my life.

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What about this decade?

Is this decade the worst decade of your life?

The day after I turned 39 was horrible. There was a lot of good in my 30's but that last year had a lot total suckage.

First couple years of my 40's had suckage that rivaled 39 but I lived and pressed forward. But it changed everything going forward for the rest of my life. There have been victories, but 39, 40, and 41 altered the course of my life in multiple ways.

Best is 30s: got married and had my two kids.

Like everyone else, I've had moments in my life that's sucked, but no decade has been hard. Maybe the first decade of my life because we were poor. When I turned 11, my family went from lower class to solidly in the middle class. At 46, I've noticed my body getting older, but my 40s haven't been hard.

I am 72 and my wife is 68. I have a girlfriend in Soissons, France who is 20 and I am allowed to live over there six months of the year, I never choose winter months though, because I cannot stand the cold at all. She speaks little English but then I speak little French, so it's all good. Actually, the part about the girlfriend is a lie.

I cannot say any decade was hard, there have been good parts and bad parts of every decade. The loss of parents being low points in two different decades. But all in all, I feel very blessed and fortunate to be able to do what I was doing in my 20s, just takes longer and a lot more rest breaks.

And best decades have been those in which I was married, had children (in two decades after the decade we got married), and had grandchildren (in three decades).

In my 50s, my kids have gone from being kids to being adults. My parents went from being caretakers to needing to be taken care of. I also quit my job to start my own business.

This is my worst decade. It is also my best.

For me it was the roaring 20s. Flappers, jazz and decadent parties.

Not to mention it was hard to get booze for most people. I am not most people so I had plenty, but it was hard for lots.

Each decade has had a blend of highs and lows but by far mostly highs. Finalizing a divorce now that I did not initiate but can now appreciate as being best for me and my kid. I think my best decades are ahead of me. I'm in my early 50's and my kid is in the mid-teens.

0-10 was rough. I never knew my dad and my mom worked really long hours for this jerk who ran a junk yard. I tried to help out when I could but he refused to pay me, I got really interested in racing as a kid though, and he was nice enough to let me salvage some parts to try and build my own vehicle - with varying success. The only other good thing about it was that I met the girl I would one day marry, although we wouldn't reconnect for a long time.

11-20 was a huge transition. I took one of those aptitude tests and they found out I was actually pretty gifted and got a scholarship to a special school that was pretty well known. There was a really decent guy who recruited me and helped me get settled. Unfortunately, he died of heart failure a couple of weeks later. His replacement was younger and a decent enough guy, but we butted heads a lot. Sometimes I honestly felt like I should have been teaching and him learning.

20-30 saw a lot of struggles for me, and a lot of personal loss. My mom died and I barely made it back home to tell her goodbye. I reconnected with that girl and we wound up getting married, but we didn't tell anyone because I was supposed to get married while still in school, so that was hard. I graduated and I got a great job right away in law enforcement, but times were really changing in the organization. I had to pick between staying loyal to my mentor or jumping ship to work for this older guy who was a natural leader with a real clear vision of the future. I ended up going with that guy and the split had some real fallout with my old classmates. It seemed like it wouldn't even matter because my wife and I got pregnant - twins! I was overjoyed .Unfortunately less than a month later I was involved in a really bad workplace accident that really altered the rest of my life. Even after I got out of surgery, I was sort of a different person and most people no longer recognized me. My wife took it the worst, she said she didn't know me anymore and it broke her heart. We separated and she struggled on her own, eventually passing away tragically while delivering our children, who were subsequently put up for adoption when it was determined my decisions meant i wasn't fit to be their dad anymore.

30-40 kind of went by in a blur. I put in the hours, I became a supervisor, eventually I rose to #2 in the company, but the boss man was a stingy old coot who told me he was never going to retire and that I needed to be content where I was.

40s were pretty amazing. I wound up meeting my daughter at a industry conference although I didn't know it was her until years later. Then when I was working overseas, who should show up but my SON who was incredibly in basically the same line of work. We had a real heart to heart that honestly helped us both process a lot of feelings that had raged for years. By the end of it, I was offering him a position to join me and we'd start our own company - Father & Son - but he rebuffed me and we parted on not-so-great terms. The good news was that we reconnected about a year later and this time he was down for the team up. Using our combine talents, we staged a somewhat hostile takeover of my boss and we forced him into an early retirement.

20-29 was probably the hardest. Don't get me wrong, there were some amazing times, but some hard times too.

Currently in my 40's, and I would say this is the most joyous. For the most part, I am stress free. Have an amazing husband and having the time of my life with my daughter playing travel ball. Sure I work a lot (by choice), but I've also gotten way better about setting boundaries, turning down business, and enjoying life. Really have nothing to complain about.

I am sorry but uhWHAT?!

Tanya 93 said:

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This one is the hardest
Wasn't expecting to become terminally ill

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This puts things into perspective. I opened it up ready to vent and read this.

I'll just shut up. Everything I've dealt with is nothing compared to this.

Tanya 93 said:

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This one is the hardest
Wasn't expecting to become terminally ill

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Also

Twenties was probably the toughest, forties thus far probably the best.

My 20s was the hardest, 30s probably the best, teens was pretty good, too

Wait...

Are we talking about actual decades or decades of your chronological age?

Is it 1970-1979 or

10 to 20 years old

Middle school through high school wasn't fun. Stuff happened and I learned too much about human nature.

I started to claw my way out of it in college and am still working on developing a 'Ef it and possibly you' mindset.

Champion of Fireball said:

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Wait...

Are we talking about actual decades or decades of your chronological age?

Is it 1970-1979 or

10 to 20 years old

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YOUR decades - decades of your chronological age.

Definitely my 20s. 30s haven't been great either. A lot of regret for wasted time and opportunity. A lot of self-defeating because I thought defeat was always going to be my destiny anyway. Sad way to live life but F that mentality now.

You know what? I think my teen years may have been worse. I'll go with that. A lot of repressed memories now popping up. Thanks, thread.

Most joyful was 0-10 by far.