Growing Old with Indignity
In the last year I’ve started to feel myself getting older. Isn’t that amazing? You cruise along looking beautiful and young, then BAM! you suddenly realize that you’re getting older. I mostly work with people more than 10 years my senior, and I always poo-poo’d them when they said, “Wait until you get to be my age, you won’t be able to (insert cliché growing old thing here) like you used to”.
So here’s what I’ve noticed in the last year:
1. I have more aches and pains
2. I can’t eat NEARLY as much as I used to (I used to be able to chow down a whole box of Mac ‘n Cheese without regret)
3. I can’t stay up nearly as late as I used to
4. I’m ready for a nap every day after work
5. I’ve got a little extra skin under my chin (ahhhh!)
6. On July 12th of this year I discovered a WRINKLE!
All that and I’m only 27.
I was thinking some more of our friend from dinner the other night who is 95. I wonder if he sat at 27 and thought ‘this is the best I’ll ever look’? Am I the best I’ll ever look right now? Am I missing out on my chance to take advantage of the little bit of metabolism that I have left to get the prefect body? And most importantly, where can I find a magic eye cream to keep that one wrinkle lonely?
ARGH 27 me too, I told my whole family that I did not want to celebrate, but my husband ( who is nine years older) realished that I FINALLY felt old, so we had to celebrate. I am in bed at 8:30 everynight, when my kids go to bed so do I. But, we are still young, and I believethat my best years will be my 40’s!!
I’m tellin ya, I am a Mark Kay girl, but Este Lauder has a great eye cream… you should try it.
love ya!
Agh screw the eye cream. I worked in a salon where this 25 year old was buying this insanely expensive eye cream, me thinking, what are you, rich? you get paid, what? 6 and hour? and that eye cream is 30 bucks for 3 oz? she says "you have to start young!!"
It’s snake oil, folks!
I am 34 and am a close watcher of this aging process. I visit a 95 year old woman who looks great but has recently been struck with diabetes, arthritis.
I just had the first kid and glory hallelujah I am within 10 lbs of my marraige and 15 from my salsa dancing weight. But it’s not the weight, its the way your face changes, your muscles change. I believe that regularly exercising is THE elixir of youth, personally. I don’t care if you all go to a gym or a track or the park…that exercise is it–and cheaper than the snake oil.
The measuring stick besides the weight? the college id card i admit guiltily… the hard thing is that growing older is so great, being comfortable finally in your own skin. All throughout my 20s I thought that if I actually worked hard enough, I could shake the fat that clung in certain spots, but now, I am just perfectly ok with what I got.
One of many things I notice is that I am not as inclined toward the activities that kept me healthy when I was younger…a hellaciously hard bike ride was appealing before, now it sounds like just hard, and why would I do that? Hiking, ahem is really just glorified walking.
Besides exercise, I believe that regular picnics and sex help keep a healthy brain and body, for the times when you can’t hop a plane to another country for an adventure…that and screw the eye cream, even if you get a wrinkle, no one will notice because you will be radiant with happiness.
I hear you, Amanda. I don’t need the sleep that you do but the other items you mention ring true–and lots of gray hair, to boot. The food item is the worst–I can’t eat salty junkfood by the bagful anymore. And I do so enjoy that. *pout*