I love this photo.
I took it the other night from the balcony of our apartment.
It’s blurry and slightly out of focus which endears me to it even more…mainly because I hope most of my friends are now seeing me through slightly dimming eyes and perhaps a more painterly vision as well.
I’m hoping that the cheesecloth-filter-over-the-lens-effect will soften their view of my slow, but steady decline into old ladyhood.
I could never have predicted this state of affairs.
Don’t get wrong. I am grateful to be here. Healthy and alive and on the planet…I just didn’t know I’d be so wrinkled!
I actually burst out laughing when I saw myself in the mirror last night. Seriously, that neck is mine?
Trust me, it was a much better option than weeping openly, that just makes the puckering under my eyes even more pronounced.
I was thinking about this today when Kevin and I were driving down from Whistler and I looked down and saw that someone had snapped my mother’s hands onto the ends of my wrists.
Probably the same joker who salted my husband’s beard in the middle of the night while making another grab at some of his hair.
And then I arrived at our apartment, opened my laptop and my friend had sent me a link to an amazingly well-written and heartfelt essay she’d found on this very subject.
Serendipitous? Or is it just because this entire cohort of Boomers is shocked to discover we’re older than those aunts and uncles we used to see as fossils.
Anyway. It’s funny. What else can it be? And it’s a helluva lot better than the alternative.
Age is just a number….so my friends child says. Actuallly being 60 for the tenth time!
I agree with you Donna.
Age is just an arbitrary number. I’ve met some very old young people and very young old people 🙂
Too funny, we must be at the age where this is a hot topic of conversation.
I work with several women who are discussing the fun of aging!! LOL
Like you said, you see changes creeping up on you, and yes of course your
mom will slip in there somewhere on your body. I actually had to purchase a
bathroom magnified mirror to help me with my morning eyeliner!!
Growing old is inevitable, we will just have to have some laughs, and compliment
each other even more! It really does help when a friend says, “Wow, you look
amazing today, have you done something different?!”>
p.s. I was just thinking how good you were looking Colleen! You go girl!
Laurie, I think you’re right… It is definitely the water cooler topic d’jour. And thank you for the compliment and might I add I thought you looked rather magnificent yourself the other night:)
Oh Colleen, you made me laugh! Thank you, you beautiful example of someone sliding into old ladyhood.
Carol, so glad we could share a laugh even if mine has a slight edge of hysteria to it 😉
Ya got that right, but you don’t want to be switching to 25 watt bulbs bec the older ya get the more light ya need to read and avoid the obstacles.
Good point about the lighting…as it is now, I always travel with my head lamp even if it’s to a B&B; all that soft lighting is lovely except when it’s time to read or just generally function!
Great essay. I was just thinking today about when it was that i became “invisible”. Then i thought about the fact that it was easier to slip through my day and not have to deal with what people “think” about me and what that “look” meant. Furthermore, how do you justify dealing with those wrinkles and spots when you have adamantly spoken against plastic surgery?
The quote of Germaine Greer is uplifting and puts a wonderful positive spin on this subject . Thank you for sharing.
Barb. I know what you mean, some of these changes just snuck in the back door. But Amen Ms. Greer:)