Growing Older: A Personal Perspective
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
Growing Older: A Personal Perspective
How Old Are You?
I hate that question.
I feel like it immediately puts me in a group or category; defined for all time.
Don’t know why I am so immature or vain about my age.
After all, it is what it is. You would think I’d be used to the idea that I am not young anymore.
But I’m not used to it. I don’t feel old.
Growing Older
I’ve lived a very rich life so far. A life filled with experiences that make me smile and shake my head; experiences I would have to kill my children for even thinking about.
Yes I know – major double standard.
But one of things I’ve learned as about growing older is that when it comes to being a parent, double standards are sooooo much acceptable than when I was 16.
And I was the quintessential “wild child”. My parents “grayed” early.
But for the most part, I have enjoyed growing older, I’ve enjoyed the various phases of my life and learning from my many, many mistakes, missteps and the ”boy that was a close one“! Practically no regrets.
I had to do what I had to do. That’s just the way it was.
I love the exuberance and excitement, the abandonment to the moment that you feel during youth. (Youth = 16 to young adulthood).
Try everything, do everything, be anything.
But I should have grown up by now. One would think?
The problem is that I went to graduate school in Monterey, California. Three of the best years of my life.
I worked hard, played harder and made life long friends.
Then I moved away; lived in Greece, the Netherlands, Canada. Moved back to the U.S. and lived in Chicago and then suddenly, 10 years later, a twist of fate brought me back to Monterey.
I still had friends here. And so life picked up where I had left it as a 20-something graduate.
Naturally, I am in a time warp. My school years feel like they were yesterday instead of 20 years ago.
I still feel that young. I (we) still behave that silly – particularly in each others company.
We howl at the moon.
I ride the grocery cart to my car. I dance and sing – to the enormous embarrassment of my children, aged 13 and 11.
I play games.
Some people never really grow up.
Living Large But Growing Older
But I have also come to appreciate growing older, where there is a certain maturity in my decision-making process, my choices, the confidence I now feel as an adult I have a more panoramic view of life.
That comes with going around the block a few times.
As a woman, I think there is a “magical time“, the “calm after the storm”, the intellectual confidence, the presence – and at the same time, the looks and body that make you sassy. irresistible. It’s true.
What a powerful time that is!
I’m sure the timing is a little different for each woman. For me – it was my 30′s.
It’s not that I don’t feel “fabulous” now, it’s just that those years were the pinnacle.
Okay – that’s the only hint you’ll about my age. 🙂
Aging
Well aging just plain sucks. And it isn’t necessarily age-related.
I don’t plan to elaborate on the genetics of aging or all the good and bad things we do that hasten or delay the process. There are LOADS of health, fitness and beauty blogs to address all that.
I am referring to that inevitable moment when you look in the mirror, objectively but critically and detect that slight slackening of your skin around the jowls, the dark circles under your eyes that don’t disappear by noon, the tiny lines….the deepening of those smile wrinkles you had when you were younger.
What are those things???
“Vanity! Women is thy name.”
The problem is, that at 20, I thought that youthful glow and fabulous skin would last forever.
Wrong! Ah well….we do what we can.
What Does It All Mean
So I guess what I want to convey in this self-indulgent little blog is that I like growing older, growing smarter, learning and connecting the dots.
I have lots of dots.
But DON’T ask me how old I am? 🙂 I have a lot of dots – that’s all you need to know.
I even like the fact that, as I am growing older – I realize just how smart my parents really were. They are just like me! (major Mark Twain paraphrase).
So…
Looking older, aka aging. Not so much. Growing older……it’s okay!
Live from Monterey, California…..