You know, aside from wrinkles and some inconvenient aches and pains, I like getting older. There’s a certain freedom that comes with it. A buffer mentality of, “talk to me when you’re my age,” kind of thing. Not to mention you can blame all kinds of fun behavior on either midlife crisis or encroaching senility.
I look back at my youth and literally shake my head at my naivety. I had all the answers. Ninety percent of everything was either black or white. By twenty-five, I’d defined exactly where I was going and had a mental rule book of how I should look, act and feel. Point A to Point B. Simple.
Nowadays? Not so much.
Today, damn near everything falls smack in the gray. I do have a life goal of writing as a full-time occupation, but beyond that and taking care of my family, things get murky. I damn sure don’t approach my behavior with the rigidity I used to. Case in point….
Photo courtesy of Kent Edwards
See? I’d have NEVER posted some hot dude I’d seen on Facebook just for the fun of it back in my twenties. I still had the directive, “women don’t do such things,” wedged deep in my rule book.
*Scoffs*
Now I know better. Look at how well Magic Mike did at the box office. I’ve sat through it twice and didn’t find one other woman who even considered the plot. (Was there one? Maybe I should watch again and refresh my memory.)
Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Don’t get me wrong, I still blush a little when I do a double take at a nice looking man. I even glance over my shoulder to see if anyone witnessed my blatant observation and secretly wonder if my husband’s gonna officially label me a hussy. But overall, age is slowly loosening my behavioral corset.
So, yeah—I like getting older. I’ll fight gravity and wrinkles until you seal my butt up in the casket, but age definitely has its perks. Remember this clip?
What about you? Where are you in the lifespan scheme of things? Are your eyes so trained on the prizes of the future you see nothing around you? Are you able to call up a single rolodex answer to any given question at a moment’s notice? Or has age mellowed you? Blurred your edges of certainty and given you permission to linger in the garden of fun?
I’d love to hear your experiences!
4 Comments
Coleen Burright
April 21, 2013 at 9:43 pmWell, there has to be SOME benefit to getting older, right? Wisdom just doesn’t cut it, especially when you can’t recall those golden nuggets when you need them… And there’s been some argument whether there’s a plot line in Magic Mike. I sure don’t remember one. 🙂
Gretchen Wing
April 25, 2013 at 9:43 amAccording to my favorite theory of how the brain works, the older we get (to a certain point), the more velcro hooks we have in our brains upon which to “stick” new experiences and make or take meaning from them. So…when I see a hot guy now, I have much more to think about than just “Yowzah.” I think about who he reminds me of from my past, or how close in age he might be to my own kids, and what are they up to these days anyway…What’s not to like about that? What I wonder is, when I start to lose those velcro hooks, will I just revert back to plain old Yowzah?
Rhenna
April 25, 2013 at 11:45 amOh, I love the hooks concept. And it’s true! I apply a whole cornucopia of experience to things I stumble across today. Nowhere near the black and white approach of youth.
T.D. Hart
May 6, 2013 at 8:58 pmOne of my favorite quotes from this weekend was delivered by a gorgeous lady who has accumulated a few years of wisdom:
“Old women and cats do as they please.”
I’m certainly enjoying the freedom that comes with age. The physical changes are a b*tch, but I never appreciated my younger body anyway.
Cheers!
-T