Every decade we learn and grow.
Well, we hope we do.
Everything changes with the passing of time.
Sex is especially fluid.
They say the older you get the better it gets.
I'm not sure for myself, but it sounds like it's working out for a lot of other people.
20s are full of verve and energy.
30s are full of bitterness and regret from the sex in the 20s.
Though that can be hot too.
Redditor Infinite_Werewolf395 wanted to hear about how things can change over the course of a decade when it comes to sexy time, so they asked:
"What is the biggest difference between sex in your 20s and sex in your 30s?"
I guess I was maybe little more confident in my 30s.
That was a plus.
Never Settle
"I gained the confidence to ask for what I actually want and say what feels good to me and what doesn't. Too many people just go with what they usually do in the sack, instead of talking about what each individual actually enjoys."
"Basically, I no longer settle for bad sex."
mynamecouldbesam
Continue
"20s: It didn't really take a lot to get me going, just 1. being in my bed, and 2. being mostly nude was enough."
"30s: I really need them to be into it, too. Like... if they act like they're only doing this to make me happy, I pick up on it and I just can't continue. I also need them to like, show some interest in me too, or it takes some monumental effort to be in the mood. I'm more particular, and more aware of what the other party is doing and how they're reacting, etc."
We1tfunk
Real Struggle
"The amount of time you have available."
frenix5
"Not necessarily. In general, life just gets busy. My husband and I are in our 30s with no kids and still find this a struggle. Life just gets busier the older you get. We have to work hard on prioritizing our relationship."
TheSilentBaker
"There’s a hell of a lot more planning involved. Gotta schedule that crap out in advance."
KosstAmojan
Learning
"I'm 35 dating a 27 yr old. I tried the pills and all kinds of different things. Eventually, we had this one time where I was really Into it (never happens anymore really. Can't keep it up so it's hard to comply when it's initiated cause I know it'll just end in disappointment for both of us) and It was the best sex we'd had in years."
"I'm still not sure what factors were different that day but I honestly think it was probably mostly emotional reinforcement. Usually, she just starts grabbing at me and there's no romance so it's hard to get... hard. I think that day we actually did some foreplay. Anyways this has really helped me a lot reading all the responses. I figured I was just freakin' cursed. Never got much action in my prime."
"It just seemed appropriate that when I was finally getting some my sh*t would stop working lol. Good to know that I'm not the only man who puts importance on the emotional component of sex. Thought that was my problem for a while too. Guess I just have emotional needs that aren't being met and it's bleeding into other facets of my life."
MurphNastyFlex
Still Hot
So Excited Reaction GIF by OriginalsGiphy"Sex in the 30s are about a million times better. Still very very horny but also experienced, skills, more willing to try things."
probablyurprofessor
I didn't find this to be true.
That's me though.
The Process
Bored Season 5 GIF by The OfficeGiphy"Sex got better. I finally figured out what my wife likes. Though a long tedious trial and error process."
SaiyanGodKing
Ruts
"Exploration is difficult once you’ve fallen into a rut. Routines become commonplace. I’m such a sub these days that I don’t mind bad sex for me as long as I can make my partner climax. It’s easy to tell with men, but with women partners I'm always afraid they’re faking or acting, so there definitely needs to be established trust first."
pissoff1818
Decades of Learning
"Teens: did it like a nympho, but sex was mediocre. 20's: did it like a nympho, sex was a little better. 30's: started figuring out what I wanted. Did it a little less, but better quality. 40's: best and most frequent sex yet. Hornier and more experimental now than ever before."
"(Edited to add: had kids in late 20's, early 30's. Kids consume so much time and energy. Kids are getting older now, so more time and energy for sex again. Honestly sex in 40's has been the freakiest, wildest, most fulfilling yet)."
ChristyCurious
Let's Sleep
"20s: sex?? Yeah!! I’ll have sex!"
"30s: sex? Hmmm okay but it’s already 8:30pm and so if we start now and stop by 9:30 we should still get a full nights sleep but also we could wait until Friday or Saturday night that might be better because if we are up too late it won’t really matter much the next day but sure yeah let’s do it! F**k it who cares wait what was that oh one of the kids is at the door."
Hopeful_Jello_7894
Perfection
"Oh man, it's so much better in my 30s than it's ever been. Multiple reasons but primarily finding a partner (my perfect wife) who has helped break down my walls through conversation and experimenting together. I feel so much less guilt about sex now and I can actually enjoy it. Not sure if it was being raised with Catholic guilt or my first gf being just the wrong partner but wow did I ever feel awful about anything sexual before."
Leebollomew
Learning and Growth
Think Winnie The Pooh GIFGiphy"I’ve got something I haven’t seen yet..."
"20s: As a dude, I’d sleep with almost any woman even if they were a horrible person or I hated their guts."
30: Anything considered a red flag or something I don’t want to deal with causes me to go limp and I lose all interest."
Slappyhandz
A decade can really change everything.
Farewell youth.
There are roughly 100 thousand children every year, in the United States alone, who are awaiting adoption.
And not just babies or infants.
This includes children in their teens and pre-teens.
They often need to be adopted owing to sad circumstances, like being taken out of homes where they were neglected and abused.
Sadly, the transitions into their new life are often turbulent, and while the eventual outcome is often happy, that sadly isn't always the case.
"Parents who have adopted a older child (5 and up), how has it gone for you? Do you regret it or would you recommend other parents considering adoption look into a older child?"
If You Want To Do It, Be Sure You Want To Do It For Them.
"Adopted a child who was 11 when I was 21."
"He was my wife's younger cousin and his household was marred with substance abuse, filth, instability, and mental health issues."
"Knew it was bad but didn't know how bad."
"Took him (11) and his brother (14) for a summer once, just to give them a break from, what we thought was, a dirty house with an overwhelmed parent."
"Until I took them back the week before school started and saw the filth first hand, the smell and the random people coming in/out, the wreckage we were about to have to leave them in, the fact that in this time his Xbox and games, I had hand-me-downed him, has been sold along with their TV."
"The two had 1 mattress on a floor and the younger one said 'I can't wait for school to start back' and when I asked why, he said 'Because then I get to eat every day, like when I'm at your house'."
"I told them to just get back in the car."
"His mother never even called to ask why he or his brother didn't come home until tax season, to make sure we didn't claim them on our taxes, etc."
"Never wished him a happy birthday, Christmas, nothing."
"My wife and I grew up very quickly."
"We worked hard and got full custody about a year later when he was 12."
"He grew up healthy and happy, successful with great grades and a good head on his shoulders."
"His brother who was 14 lived with us for the first year then would go back and forth trying to help his mom get her life together before returning again, but for the most part during those years, the younger child we had full custody of and the older child came/went as he needed."
"It wasn't until years later when the younger of the two moved out with his friends, instead of taking our offer to go to college right after school, and began having substance abuse issues of his own that we learned the extent of the abuse he had endured at home for nearly his entire childhood and kept inside."
"Sexual and physical for years starting when he was about 5 from his mothers 'friends' and boyfriends and even a family member due to their terrible situation."
"It was heartbreaking."
"He ended up going through a pretty severe addiction period in his early to mid 20s and regardless what we've tried and how many small successes we've worked with him to reach, he always ends up in a severe depression and turning back to drugs again."
"The last time I talked to him, about a week ago, I told him I loved him and would help him get into a very nice rehab community when he's ready and help him get a good job and place for himself, but only when he's ready to be clean and until then, we simply can't do anything with/for him..and it was hard to do."
"I am in the 2nd half of my 30's now, have 3 children in grade school who need me like he did then who also love him, our oldest looks at him like a big brother, but unfortunately we have to keep our distance a bit so they don't have to see close-up the ugly side of addiction in someone they love."
"Now that he's an adult in his mid 20's himself making these choices, we can't have any real relationship other than the occasional call or letter until he's done."
"He loves them too, but he's got some demons that we cannot possibly understand and until he's ready to get help for them or help for his addiction, we don't have much of a relationship."
"His brother worked hard and straightened their mother out over the years into a functioning adult and mother, got her life together, a job, a place, everything and as adults, never left her."
"In fact, due to him, his brother spent the last year of his teens sharing our household and hers back/forth which wouldn't have been possible without him."
"The older brother and her are roommates now and we are very proud of him for the man he's become, what he's persevered, and the incredible progress he's made with their mother and how he's stuck by her side now providing as equals."
"I never realized it, but he and I really grew up together, only being 5-6 years apart in age and were best friends for years as young adults even after his younger brother moved out."
"One of my biggest regrets is somehow letting those days end."
"He loves his brother too, but his and his mother's relationship with his brother is the same as ours, the delicate balance between helpful/love vs enabling due to understanding the pain he's probably trying to understand/repress, until he's able to beat this, and he will."
"Nothing is perfect, just what you make of it I suppose, but it has highlighted to us how important the early years of a child's development are and how damaging all forms of abuse can be, regardless how much effort you put into trying to change things afterward, and also how important it is for a child to have an adult who genuinely cares about them, since sadly many don't."
"Would I recommend it?"
"Yes, but be honest with yourself why you're doing it and know what you're getting into."
"You're not getting a good/bad kid, you're getting an opportunity to be a good/bad parent."
"Children this age need you as much as a baby does, they bring happiness the same as a baby does and also present their own unique challenges the same as parents do, which is what they're signing up for too without knowing, and most importantly the reason you should be adopting is for them."
"You get to give your love, time, affection and a portion of your life, and heart, too."
"Would I do it again?"
"Every single time."- saaatchmo
Be Prepared.
"My wife and I adopted an older girl from our state's foster system."
"The girl was 13 when we adopted her and we were told she had a rough childhood full of abuse and she had been diagnosed with 'general mood disorder'."
"Little did we know that the psychological assessment was done by an unqualified state doctor and this little girl had severe issues that required more care than my wife and I were prepared for."
"We spent 5 years dealing with fighting, arguing, run away attempts, drug use, alcohol abuse, constant emotional manipulation, constant lying, stealing, etc."
"She was also in constant contact with her schizophrenic birth mother behind our backs, the woman kept feeding our daughter conspiracy theories and lies and constantly making the situation worse for all of us."
"We tried the best we could for 5 whole years, trying various different therapists, trying different parenting methods, seeing different doctors, all to no avail."
"It wasn't until about 5 months before her 18th birthday that we had to have her committed and we finally got a proper diagnosis."
"She was diagnosed with bi-polar and BPD and we finally had an answer to the years of hell we all had to go thru."
"We did our research and learned the proper way to parent a child with these conditions and things began to improve over the last few months she was with us, but on her 18th birthday she bailed and we haven't seen her since, that was 5 years ago."- Dragonace1000
The Love They Never Knew
"I feel I got lucky."
"He was 9 when we adopted him, but he was just grateful to have a home and people who loved him."
"My wife and I love him dearly as he does us."- TyrannoDragon
Have Absolutely No Doubts.
"My pre-adoptive son just moved in 6 weeks ago."
"He’s almost 10."
"Him getting here has been a bit of a long and wild story but he’s been in care since he was 6."
"It hasn’t been easy but there’s SO many older kids who need families."
"My biggest thing is just to make DAMN sure you’re committed."
"Know your limits."
"Be honest with yourself and your adoption coordinator."
"And demand honesty from the social worker as well."
"Ask for psych evals and treatment histories."
"Because if you convince yourself 'oh I can handle this' and you change your mind?"
"You are re-traumatizing that child."
"My son has complex trauma from years of abuse but the thing he talks about most after his meltdowns?"
"Having to leave his first pre-adoptive home because he kept losing his temper and throwing things."
"He’s been in 4-5 placements and a PRTF since then."
"I work with girls involved in juvenile justice so I felt uniquely prepared for this situation and even for me, it’s been physically and emotionally exhausting."
"I’m a single parent and we’re in the middle of a global pandemic so I’m sure that’s a factor."
"But if you choose to adopt there shouldn’t be any 'changing your mind' or 'this just isn’t working out'."
"That kiddo is part of your family."
"My son and I have a little mantra 'together forever. Even when things get hard, even when things get sad'.”- camilouwhooo
Not Everyone Is Meant To Be A Parent
"I adopted a 7 YO from foster care in 2017."
"It was an absolute failure."
"My wife pushed me to choose this child even though I didn’t feel the 'sparks' everyone talks about when meeting or hearing about their kids."
"I separated from my wife in 2018 and we shared custody for about a year."
"I asked her for a short break, and she took the child and never returned him."
"I can’t say I’m unhappy about her choice."
"I didn’t really fight for her to bring him back."
"I have seen him only a few times since then."
"I care for him as a human being and of course wish no harm upon him, but I’m not his parent."
"It’s one of the most difficult things I’ve been through."- bearbearbare
Older children who are hoping to be adopted need love above all else.
Sadly, love can't solve every problem.
But any parent committed to loving their children, no matter how difficult things might get, will ensure that they will somehow, in some way come out on top of all their troubles.
Even if it sometimes takes more love than you can possibly imagine.
'I'm Turning Into My Parents' Experiences According To Their Adult Children
We will be our parents one day.
All we can hope is maybe we'll be an upgraded version.
There is always that one moment when you realize though.
Maybe it's sensing rain coming in your knees.
Or perhaps it's scolding your own children for the first time.
No matter the moment, it's likely to happen.
As life slips by...
Redditor itsDaco wondered who is feeling like age is beginning to catch up with them. So they asked everyone:
"What’s the most 'I’m turning into my parents' moment for you?"
Coupons. When I started noticing coupons.
That's when I knew.
Hush
Grocery Store Noise GIF by TravisGiphy"When I went from 'Oh hey this restaurant has live music, cool!' to 'Dammit - look at them setting up a drum kit. It's going to be too loud. I can't hear.'"
itsalwaysamyth
A little sass...
"I've always had a little sass in me and most of my life, my shyness covered that up. Now I am a one woman massacre. Thanks, mom. My brothers have been telling me for years that I am essentially our mom, to the point of calling me 'little mother (in an endearing way, not a Norman Bates way). I own it."
jilly_is_funderful
Waking Up
"My dad will fall asleep just about anywhere, especially if he sits in a recliner. So after I got my first full-time job out of college, I got home and me and my roommate were gonna watch a new episode of some show. I fell asleep in our recliner in less than 10 minutes. I woke up after the show ended and my roommate was like yeah you were out and snored a little."
timshel_life
45 conversations...
"Sometimes I will say certain words and I’ll turn around because I thought my mom said something. It’s really scary how me and her share 98% of seemingly random idiosyncrasies."
"We both talk to ourselves. Full on 45 conversations with ourselves. We both do this counting this when some of the numbers turn breathy as we count."
"We both shake our heads and point our fingers the EXACT same way when we’re yelling. Sometimes I’ll stop mid fight because I can see my mom making the exact same motions and it freaks me out."
PaulSheldonsFeet
You Win
Super Mario Dancing GIFGiphy"My 10 year old nephew let me win a video game cuz he felt bad for me, like I did to my dad 25 years ago on Super Nintendo."
dipdipbeantot
Ah... passing on the gift of the game.
Exhausted
Sad Family Time GIF by LifetimeGiphy"My dad has in a way worked himself to death. Now he's retired. When he comes over now as soon as he sits down on a couch he falls asleep within minutes. I'm noticing couches are starting to have the same affect on me."
xXEvanatorXx
Thanksgiving...
"My SO and I were packing and getting ready to road trip to some family’s house for Thanksgiving. As I was cleaning up the house my SO said something along the lines of, 'don’t worry about it, you can clean when we get home.' I replied with, 'I do NOT want to come home to a dirty house.' At that point I realized I’m turning into my mother."
phuckyouverymuch
Looking
"My mom used to find things for us in a minute after we had been looking for hours. My siblings and dad sometimes lose things and ask me to help because 'I always find it magically' .... I’m actually very excited about the mom touch to finding things."
HeyYouThere101
"I started dating a mother of 4. She has the Mom touch on so many levels... and I’ve for sure abused it."
"The other day I was on the phone with her and said I couldn’t find my iPad. She told me to check under a box I just brought in from my car. She hadn’t been over for a couple days, though I was on the phone when I got the box. But...
No clue how it works."
HiddenA
Generations
"The moment I saw a high school picture of me... turns out it was my dads high school picture. I'm identical to my father and it's annoying as can be."
befries
"Same. I look just like my old man. Baby pics, childhood pics, all the way up to a picture my mom showed me of my 7th birthday party when he was my age now. But good news is, you know what you'll look like when you're older, and can plan accordingly."
snazzywaffles
Plastics
Rubber Band Rainbow GIF by Kev LaveryGiphy"As I stared into the mass of various saved rubber bands and twist ties."
docjohnholliday
"I have to dump the 4,786 plastic bags my brother will save and keep 5-10 of them."
I do love rubber bands. I'm growing I guess.
As we all know, wisdom is earned with time and life experience. Try explaining that to youngsters when they have questions that are too complicated for them to grasp.
Kids will always be inquisitive but they usually aren't ready to receive answers–especially when the subjects are related to the concepts of romantic passion and death.
The best response to give a child when they ask about a mature topic is what Mrs. Potts (R.I.P. Angela Lansbury) told Chip in response to his observation of the budding romance between Belle and the Beast:
"I'll tell you when you're older."
Curious to hear examples of earned wisdom, Redditor dickdockdack asked:
"What is the single most 'you’ll understand it when you’re older' thing?"
Getting older can be unpleasant over time. But children need not worry about it until they have to."
Unexplainable Ailments
"Health issues. I know I've been genetically lucky, but after 20, random sh*t just starts happening for no reason. It's like Darryl developing a soy allergy at 35, who develops a soy allergy at 35?"
– hey_there_kitty_cat
Kids, when your grade school classmates stop pulling your hair and you stop retaliating mercilessly, you'll learn a thing or two about the people you call "friends."
Value Of Friendship
"That the quality rather than quantity of friends matters."
– pinetreeroad
Sure, Everyone Is Cordial, BUT
"Good people aren't always nice people, and vice versa."
– bibbidibobbidi-bacon
High Stakes
"High school drama isn’t important. Like, at all."
– lalondtm
Kids Are Influential
"Understanding why your parents wanted you to go play with the awkward kid, or why they were so keen to help you make friends."
"It's beyond annoying as a kid when your parents try to guide who make friends with, but most parents instinctually know that bad social habits start early, are hard to break, and can be a real burden when you are older."
– zazzlekdazzle
They Come And Go
"Friendships fading away."
"I remember my dad telling me all kinds of cool stories about things him and his friends did in the past. I even asked him 'why aren't you still friends with these people?' He really did basically say 'it's complicated, you'll understand when you're older.' Even back then I remember thinking 'that's crazy, me and my friends will always be friends."'
"Sitting here now in my early 30's and it really hits home."
– Slowjams
Here are some honorable mentions.
Passing On "Luxuries"
"Can we get McDonald's? No we have food at home."
– ninten-dont
Kitchen Rule
"Why it’s so annoying when you forget to take the chicken out of the freezer."
– steviebergwijn
Convenience Of Zapping Food
"Man, I don’t know how parents in particular survived before the microwave oven. I’m a reasonably not-incompetent home cook, I understand there’s nothing you can do with a microwave that you can’t do without one - but doing without requires a lot more time, attention, and planning ahead, all of which are in very short supply with little kids underfoot."
"Also, unsolicited LPT: use the lower power settings, they do take longer, but they allow the heat to diffuse out of the 'hot spots' faster than it accumulates, so you get a nice, evenly-heated meal, and not an ice salad with lava dressing."
– bonos_bovine_muse
Getting old is a cruel fact of nature.
Loneliness Hits Hardest
"Why elderly people in nursing homes who get no visitors are so lonely and filled with despair."
– Back2Bach
Hardest Decisions
"We had to put my mom in a home because we physically could not care for her anymore. She didn’t want to be there and we didn’t want her to be. But there weren’t any other options."
"My dad was there every day until he got sick and died. My sister and I stopped in a couple of times a week each. The last month of her life I was there every day."
"I hope she knew I did the best I could to take care of her."
– BlondieeAggiee
We currently live in a fast-paced society where youngsters almost always have play dates, birthday parties, county fairs to attend, etc.
This is to be expected as kids are always needing to be stimulated.
Little do they know of the inevitability of doing nothing becomes a luxury to look forward to.
Until then, younglings, live life to the fullest and your reward of chilling out will come when you have learned to recognize it.
People Explain Which Cartoon Characters Become More Relatable The Older They Get
Many of us really related to characters in cartoons and Disney movies as kids, especially the main characters, but how relatable they seem changes as we get older and have more life experience.
Ariel's desire for freedom and control over her own life makes total sense when you're a kid and adults are in charge of your life, but she starts to seem kind of irresponsible once you realize that she put her whole family in jeopardy just to get what she wanted.
Meanwhile, some of the other characters, especially authority figures, start to make a heck of a lot more sense when you experience being truly responsible for other people.
Redditor kaizen1989 asked:
"Which cartoon character becomes more relatable,the older you get?"
Party Poopers
"The overly cautious fun suckers in any Disney movie."
"Zazu from The Lion King, Sebastian from The Little Mermaid, and Bagheera from Jungle Book come to mind."
- SheenzMe
"Zazu has a line where he's complaining to Simba, 'The sooner we get to the watering hole, the sooner we can leave!'"
"Do I now identify with Zazu on a spiritual level rather than just childishly thinking he's a killjoy?"
"Yes."
- poppyfairy
GiphyWe're All Depressed
"Eeyore. I'm tired, depressed and grey most of the time."
- Striking-Ferret8216
"And yet, when people are depending on you, you try to help. (Eeyore is my favorite character)"
- Gen-Jinjur
We all have annoying coworkers
"Benson from regular show. After becoming a supervisor/manager, you start to realize how much the little things employees do add up and make you absolutely hate your life"
- ostrichual
"The clip where benson has a breakdown when Mordecai and Rigby spent all night inside an arcade. When he said how this job is all he has left. That sh*t hit me nowadays…."
- Dinobob
Propane and Propane Accessories
"Definitely Hank Hill. Especially now that I have to listen to a guy I know talk about conspiracy theories all the time. I've even got my own damn Dale."
- AstroWorldSecurity
"I love that clip of Hank finally getting fed up and calling out Dale’s BS. Maybe it will give you some peace."
- TheRavenSayeth
"Dale you giblet head, we live in Texas!"
- Daikataro
Hank Hill Smh GIFGiphy"Everything Has a Beginning and an End"
"Jet Black from Cowboy Bebop."
- Prank_Owl
"The absolute exhaustion in his every syllable"
- puttyarrobro
"Lol he's only 35."
- NoThxBtch
"35 going on 50. Seriously though, Jet was an 'old soul' at 35."
- Orome2
Totally Misunderstood
"The Grinch. He just wanted to chill with his dog in peace and quiet."
- -eDgAR-
"'The grinch didn't hate Christmas, he hated people. And that is fair. -Jim Carrey (paraphrased)"
- plz2meatyu
"I have told my wife this. They ostracized him as a child and basically made him an outcast. Why? He looked different. He was a nice kid who just wanted to fit in. He is mercilessly picked on until he is old enough to live on his own. He is so mentally destroyed that he lives in a cave filled with trash because that's what he feels his self worth is. No one has ever been nice to him. He is suspicious when Cindy Lou tries to be nice to him. He wants to rejoin society, I think, but had no reason to believe it'll be a good experience. He hates Whoville and all the residents because they've treated him awful his whole life. Why do they get to have a merry Christmas, screw them. But it's the grinch, and not that town, that is the villain."
- RoccoTaco_Dog
Every Parent Ever
"Stu Pickles"
- TrickBoom414
"The chocolate pudding scene rings true to this day."
- SomwhatCharmedLife
"'Why on earth are you making chocolate pudding?' 'Because I've lost control of my life.'"
- Brain_lessV2
Sweet Solitude Shouldn't Be Too Much To Ask
"Shrek. F**k outta my swamp, I just want to enjoy my solitude with my wife."
- Onomatopaella
Ohana
"Nani from Lilo and Stitch."
- jestagoon
"Every time I think about how hard Nani had it, I remember the shelf of surfing trophies in her room. Girl could have probably made some cash as a pro surfer but had to shift to a more stable job as a waitress because that’s what Lilo needed."
- Threspian
lilo and stitch lol GIF by DisneyGiphyMaybe He Had a Point
"King Triton from the little mermaid—yes, he overreacted by destroying her stuff, but like. He did also have a point for being upset with Ariel’s irresponsibility and sneaking out."
- ctortan
"Plus he had spent his time and magic hiding the Atlanteans and their world. she’s just like 'f**kkkk it I’m horrrrnnnyyyyy. I’m gonna undo thousands of years of hard work and sacrifices my family has made.'"
- duchessisboss
The characters that we related to as kids often come to seem silly or irresponsible as we get older, and those that we thought of as stuffy or overbearing can seem much more reasonable when we understand what handling real adult responsibilities is really like.