OLDER AND WISER

 

I'm lookin' at you!

Every weekday, into my email inbox comes the online magazine Prime Woman. Last Tuesday there was a short read - they always tell you how long it will be, this one was 4 minutes – titled “Older, Wiser and Rocking their 70s – Powerful Women in the News.”  A charming 76 myself, I am always interested in articles about my generation and how we do what we do.

The short article further referred to a new book, a New York Times best seller, Women Rowing North – Navigating Life’s Currents and Flourishing as we Age. After taking a look inside the book, courtesy of Amazon, I can tell that the book should be a “must read” for any gals around my age whose “jury is still out,” who haven’t quite decided who they are and what they are today. Today, as has been the case for over a century, who and what we are, and how we think of ourselves, is very much dictated by the media. When we were younger and raising our children, the media was very much with us. It is still with the younger woman, and will probably always remain so.

Gradually, with the help of media outlets easily accessible by women like me who blog or have created online magazines, and with many older women writing articles and books aimed at us, we have recognized that we are not over the hill as was once thought, but are very much still on the way to the summit. We’ll hike along happily, with healthy minds and fairly healthy bodies.

Not all of us can look like some of the well-maintained celebrities like Cher, or Glenn Close who at age 71 just won a Golden Globe, and looks spectacular. We don’t fret too much about the shape of our bodies. One line form the book’s introduction says: “Our bodies are saggy with plenty of stretch marks, wrinkles, and cellulite, but do we care? Not much.” For the majority of us, this is true. We’ve made it this far and have other things to worry about.

I am fortunate to have moved to Sun City Carolina Lakes, a community of active adults. I often wonder what I’d be doing if I still lived a half a mile in on a dirt road in rural upstate New York. My day to day life in the community is an interaction with people my age. I work on this blog. I edit the community magazine. I do all the household things that need to be done, of course, and I read a lot. I’m just about in the middle of the age range here. I’ve a few friends and acquaintances in their late fifties, most are around my age, and a few in their late eighties and early nineties. We’re a good group, if I do say so myself. 

I'm rocking my seventies and going strong.