As the wrinkles spread and the boobs head south, we still feel likes teenagers inside don’t we? Today I have a guest post from The Undercover Granny, on getting old, grey hair, and staying positive…
…
When I was young and heard old ladies saying they still felt 18, I used to snort with derision. How could this possibly be true? Surely there is some kind of old person’s switch that flicks the moment you reach 50 and thoughts of music, clothes and romance are replaced by a desire to knit, grow lavender and tut loudly at anyone having even the tiniest bit of fun.
Now 52 and a granny myself, I realise this is, of course, complete nonsense. I still feel as if I’m in my early twenties and it’s only the odd creak of my bones and the strands of grey in my hair that remind me I am no longer a mere slip of a girl.
When my son was small he embarrassed me hugely in a queue in a shop by asking loudly why old ladies all had the same haircut and if they all went to the same hairdresser. It is perhaps this alone that has left me determined to keep my hair longish forever and not succumb to the pressure to have it teased into a white helmet.
In most respects I feel no different now to how I did in my younger years. But it is undeniable that growing older brings with it a sense of peace.
In your teens and early twenties there’s a real immediacy to every problem. If you might have to miss a party it can feel like the end of the world. If a boyfriend is drifting away it feels, momentarily at least, as if your life is over.
With age, however, you learn that you won’t die if you don’t buy that gorgeous yellow mini skirt and, in fact, having some money in the bank or not running up an overdraft is a lot better for your emotional wellbeing.
In essence, I believe you are the age you feel – as long as you look after your body and mind – and that it can be really freeing to leave behind the tiring drama of youth. Just make sure you retain a sense of optimism and the feeling that anything is possible.
I’d love to hear how you feel on the subject.
What a lovely post! You sum it all up so well and as I have travelled through my 30s I have started to realise that it is just as you say it is.
Whenever a friend moans to me about being another year older I ask them what, realistically the alternative is… i.e. not being here any longer, soon stops them fretting.
Ha! Love it. This is a great post – cute picture (and beautiful blog). Enjoy the weekend!
~ Tiffany
Transfer of Health
Healthy Recipes and How to Feel Good
Great post! I know what you mean about feeling young but your joints letting you down. I went skiing with the MIL the other day – who is in her sixties – and she is a good skier but she stops at lunchtime for a glass of wine and a good book because…well, she just isn’t in a rush anymore.
Yeah I am much more relaxed now at 41 so things are generally great. Like you say in one’s twenties everything was a big drama and storm in a teacup! But I do regret not appreciating my lovely moist skin and lack of wrinkles …..youth is definitely wasted on the young!
Wonderful post and I too am determined to keep my hair long as I get older and wiser! My grandmother is 94: absoultely beautiful, the most intelligent woman I know and doesn’t look a day older than 70-seriously no wrinkles. Good genes, great diet and despite being a huge worrier, an utter joy and blessing to us all. It saddens me there is so much ageism in this country. Culturally as a Greek Cypriot, the elderly are held in great respect and adoration.