From this day on, I will always look back and wish I was this young again.
This is what I tell myself when I feel sad about aging. The night before my birthday, I joke that tomorrow I will be another year older.
Our society is very age oriented. There are so many occasions when that number brings a new right - ability to work, vote, drive, rent a car, get discounts, stop working, access money you’ve saved and so on. At any given time, we have an age we’d like to be and except for 18 and 21, it’s usually not our current age.
Age is one of the first questions we ask children and we are asked to enter on forms. We wonder how old others are. We even ask this about objects and food! How old is that antique, that house, that bottle of wine, the container of milk.
It’s OK to slow down by choice but not by biology. We do not value wrinkles. We have a million products to slow down aging or give the appearance of youth. We commend younger folks when they finally slow down to smell the roses. Older folks are perceived as less capable and there is less respect for being old fashioned. I don't like getting older. I reached the point where I'm facing a decline.
So it takes a bit of self-convincing to remind myself that my birthday is a celebration of life. I made it this far! And I am lucky! I have had a really excellent life so far with so much more to look forward to!
At 58, my health is pretty good. My knees and back are fine, no aches or pains. My hair is thinner and slightly graying and I have a few wrinkles near my eyes and that frowny look due to sagging cheeks is setting in. The skin on my arms is getting papery.
I was blessed with a very happy childhood and great parents. I have a loving mother, a wonderful husband and respectful kids that became the sort of people the world needs. I’ve had mostly positive experiences in my life with friends, hobbies and work that empower me to confidently want more of all of the above.
I am more curious about everything now than when I was younger, thanks to life experience. The internet came in my middle aged years and now I learn about new things every few hours and I can look up anything I want to know. So many things are within reach.
There is something good about every age.
My mother said this when, as a child, I asked her “how does it feel to grow old”? Of course I was 6 at the time and she was in her 30’s, but it was a fair question.
I'd say she was right. There is something good about every age.
