Felt old the other day when I was buying a jacket and the store assistant said it was really meant for a younger woman so I went ahead and bought it anyway, damn it!
Hey! I have tissues in all my pockets, too! It's something I share with my mother...or, she passed onto me. Every purse, jacket, pair of pants has a balled up, gently used tissue.
And
My thought is that whoever said "age is just a number" died in their 30s.
I'm 60 this year. I type this from the salon chair, foil strips bleaching half of my head, the part that isnt grey enough. I don't see 60 in the mirror, but I feel it in my body. More so, I hear it ... a throbbing rush of time.
Hi LIsa - I just joined Substack (if "joining" is even what you do on this platform) and really like your writing. The observation about people your kids describe as old really resonated, and "sit down, Marcus Aurelius" made me laugh. Thanks for the great writing!
Here's one to think about - Old versus sexy, because we equate sexy with young, vital, etc, right? I once saw an older couple - both in their 70's dance the tango at an outdoor area in a restaurant - and it was still sensual and full of life. It was beautiful and rare, yes - but it still existed. They were attractive older people but not because they looked "young" for their age. It was their energy they exerted out and with each other. I've also met older individuals who gave off the best vital energy and younger people who seemed to be in worse shape (energetically speaking) than some 80 year olds I've met. Physicality is a part of it, but I also think curiosity is huge. We can be "set in our ways" with some things but as long as we still want to learn, to understand, to be willing to change and try something new, it helps us no matter what our age. Do we decompose? Of course we do, it is nature's way with everything. I feel the noticeable shift in my energy from just 5 years ago, and I am 50. I've also been thru some things - so my recovery is not to "fight against my age" so much as to recover from the past few years and the difficulties I went thru. I've met people in their 20's that looked like they were in their early 40's due to trauma and a very hard life. And I have met people who had relatively easy lives due to inherited money - and they had not aged as much. Genetics, bad habits play a role they say, but honestly, it's what we choose to hold close to our hearts and minds. I catch myself apologizing to younger people for a reference I make now- realizing they may not know what I mean. The social media machine and advertising would have us apologize for not being down with they younger generations, but they don't reverse that do they? The older we are, we sometimes get laughed at for not knowing what something means in the current vernacular. But often, the younger generation does not apologize to us for not knowing "the old school" way of things. I say we embrace both - there is value in all generations. It's what we do with the knowledge, experience and energy we have been given. This all being said, I do get much angrier now at super loud engine motors, car stereos, and the recklessness of youth in vehicles. But I haven't told anyone to get off my lawn. Not yet, anyway.
The other day at the grocery store I said to whoever was with me (who can remember?), "Why is everything so *expensive*?" Then I silently admonished myself for saying something that sounded so "old" and then I admonished myself again because what's wrong with old? And anyway everything *is* expensive right now! I don't know, Lisa. It's so confusing.
Felt old the other day when I was buying a jacket and the store assistant said it was really meant for a younger woman so I went ahead and bought it anyway, damn it!
Hey! I have tissues in all my pockets, too! It's something I share with my mother...or, she passed onto me. Every purse, jacket, pair of pants has a balled up, gently used tissue.
And
My thought is that whoever said "age is just a number" died in their 30s.
I felt this one so hard. A beautiful piece!
I'm 60 this year. I type this from the salon chair, foil strips bleaching half of my head, the part that isnt grey enough. I don't see 60 in the mirror, but I feel it in my body. More so, I hear it ... a throbbing rush of time.
Hi LIsa - I just joined Substack (if "joining" is even what you do on this platform) and really like your writing. The observation about people your kids describe as old really resonated, and "sit down, Marcus Aurelius" made me laugh. Thanks for the great writing!
Here's one to think about - Old versus sexy, because we equate sexy with young, vital, etc, right? I once saw an older couple - both in their 70's dance the tango at an outdoor area in a restaurant - and it was still sensual and full of life. It was beautiful and rare, yes - but it still existed. They were attractive older people but not because they looked "young" for their age. It was their energy they exerted out and with each other. I've also met older individuals who gave off the best vital energy and younger people who seemed to be in worse shape (energetically speaking) than some 80 year olds I've met. Physicality is a part of it, but I also think curiosity is huge. We can be "set in our ways" with some things but as long as we still want to learn, to understand, to be willing to change and try something new, it helps us no matter what our age. Do we decompose? Of course we do, it is nature's way with everything. I feel the noticeable shift in my energy from just 5 years ago, and I am 50. I've also been thru some things - so my recovery is not to "fight against my age" so much as to recover from the past few years and the difficulties I went thru. I've met people in their 20's that looked like they were in their early 40's due to trauma and a very hard life. And I have met people who had relatively easy lives due to inherited money - and they had not aged as much. Genetics, bad habits play a role they say, but honestly, it's what we choose to hold close to our hearts and minds. I catch myself apologizing to younger people for a reference I make now- realizing they may not know what I mean. The social media machine and advertising would have us apologize for not being down with they younger generations, but they don't reverse that do they? The older we are, we sometimes get laughed at for not knowing what something means in the current vernacular. But often, the younger generation does not apologize to us for not knowing "the old school" way of things. I say we embrace both - there is value in all generations. It's what we do with the knowledge, experience and energy we have been given. This all being said, I do get much angrier now at super loud engine motors, car stereos, and the recklessness of youth in vehicles. But I haven't told anyone to get off my lawn. Not yet, anyway.
The other day at the grocery store I said to whoever was with me (who can remember?), "Why is everything so *expensive*?" Then I silently admonished myself for saying something that sounded so "old" and then I admonished myself again because what's wrong with old? And anyway everything *is* expensive right now! I don't know, Lisa. It's so confusing.