As I mentioned last week, the kids of ‘47, my confreres, the infamous boomlets, have reached a milestone year.
I guess I forgot, or maybe I just blocked out the fact that we will be 65 this year. How did we get here so fast! Is this some kind of cosmic trick being played prematurely on Baby Boomers who are working feverishly to hold on to their youth even though it went missing about 20 years ago.
Happy birthday to my confreres who have already celebrated their 65th year on the planet. But don’t count us out just yet. With exercise, Botox and a good hair colorist, maybe we can delay the passing the torch of youth for a while longer. After all, they say old age is always 15 years older than you are!
And listen, don’t you dare call us “elderly” yet, or we’ll run you down with our Hover Rounds or trip you up with the legs on our walkers.
I made a huge mistake this morning when I cleaned my make-up mirror with Windex. Believe me, I look a whole lot better through a thin veneer of dust and grime. The only good thing about wrinkles is that they don’t hurt.
Here’s my solution -an instant face lift that doesn’t cost a penny. Smile. Alot. It lifts your drooping features and puts a twinkle in your eye. Now you understand why I cruise around town wearing sunglasses and a goofy grin.
Something like 79 million baby boomers, about 26 percent of the U. S. population, are trying to redefine what it means to be “older.”
The Silver Tsunami is moving in, y’all, and big business is trying to help us out. They now use larger headlines in newspapers and magazines, and clothes have been downsized so that my former size 12 is now a size 6. Lovin’ that.
Turning 65 is one of life’s most significant passages. On one hand we relish reaching retirement age and the freedom from 9-5 existence. On the other, we feel a bit of panic, suddenly realizing the clock is ticking and we only have so many years left to reach our dreams.
Speaking for myself I feel fortunate to have made it this far. Some of the kids of ‘47 didn’t. But what I see when I look in the mirror is nothing like the vision I carry in my head of the 16-year old I used to be. Where did she go and why did she leave me here with with this body?
So, kids of ‘47, raise your bowl of Fiber 1, topped with brain-cell enriching blueberries and soy milk, and give yourself a happy birthday toast. Life marches on and we’d better hold on tight. This next phase of our lives is likely to be a wild ride.
Emily, the “golden years” are really quite nice. Especially when I remember the hurried schedule I used to have…getting breakfast early every morning, selecting clothes for everyone to wear that day, making sure lunches were packed for the girls and that all their school supplies were ready to go, getting them to school, activities, dr. appointments, etc. Then there were errands, appointments for me, bridge, garden club, DAR, church, and then lunch and dinner to prepare.
Now, I get out of bed when I want to,dress if I want to, do as much or as little as I want, (mostly little), and, three days a week, have someone to do everything for us, including bringing hot, homecooked meals to our chairs in the den.
Walkers are pretty good inventions also. I bought one of those bags with pockets and velcro straps that attach to one side of mine, a basket that fits in the middle and have it loaded with anything I might need for the day…meds, flashlight, scissors, tape, mints,my phone, remote for our security system, and, of course, cigarettes and lighters.
Recently hubby required short term use of a walker also and we joked about needing to install a passing lane in the hallway.
As for the accompanying wrinkles, maybe I need a permanent Halloween mask to hide the ever increasing number of them.
Life is good!!!
The beautiful woman at the age of sixteen is still in there and like a good red wine has improved with age. The actual retirement age to draw full social security is sixty six and two months for me. About the mirrors, I took them out of my house. It’s easier to retain that youthful body image in your mind that way. of course the only time I use make up is when I play Santa Claus. Return my calls please.