23/06/2024
Turning 60
I just turned sixty. Sometimes I think, “How is this possible?” and at others, I believe it’s no big deal. Physically, I feel the same as I did when I was 50 but without the hot flashes and with a little more pain in my joints. My migraines haven’t gotten any better or any worse and my body composition is pretty much the same. So what’s the big deal? I think that challenge for me is to allow my skin to do what it’s going to do. Wrinkles are going to continue to grow deeper, the skin on my arms will get crepeyer and to my recent surprise, the skin on my inner thighs will probably continue its southward journey. Another challenge for me is fatigue, but I am no more fatigued than I was when my children were small.
Mentally and emotionally I am happier with myself. I continue to grow in confidence in my personal and professional life. I have learned more kindness, more grace, more compassion. I have learned how to love and be loved.
Statistically, I have a 50% chance of living to 100, so I can no longer say I am middle aged. This is another mental construct that causes bewilderment. I’m not old! Maybe the problem here is my understanding of “old”. Growing up in the 60s and 70s, television influenced my idea of aging. I regularly watched The Beverly Hillbillies reruns after school, where Irene Ryan played the role of Granny, and oh dear, was she ancient! While in real life, my grandmother walked about with the aid of her very own shopping cart, her back so bowed that walking was impossible unaided, yet she refused to use a walker because it made her feel old. Now that I am the grandmother of a teenager and a pr***en, I do not relate to the examples I had as a child.
Culture has recently changed our perception of old-age. We now know we can live happily in our sixties and beyond. Healthy eating, regular moderate exercise, rewarding careers, love and friendship all play a part to allow us to thrive and reimagine what old-age has become for women of our generation.
I am grateful to the women before me who have paved the way for the opportunities we have to age with vigor and vibrancy. There are many older women in my life who inspire me. Times really have changed and for that I'm grateful.
And just for fun: Here is a list of women who are now over 60.
Who inspires you? Tell me in the comments.
Meryl Streep
Julianne Moore
Venus Williams
Halle Barry
Julia Louise-Dreyfus
Sharon Stone
Tilda Swinton
Oprah Winfrey
