Dear 30-somethings (and twenty-somethings and even forty-somethings),Revel in it now because it's not gonna last forever; the thick, lustrous hair, the firm butt, the dewy skin (free of age spots), the jaw line you can bounce a quarter off of, the flat stomach...ah, the list goes on. Appreciate it, even if you hate the way you look because you're never going to look better than you do right now. Oh, you might lose weight, you might build muscle, you might learn how to dress better, but the bottom line is when you're my age you're going to look at pictures from now and say, "Wow, I was cute. Why didn't I know that?"
So my question is,
why didn't our mothers tell us this? And if they had would it have helped or hurt? My mom once told me she never felt old inside her head, but she never talked about the physicality of getting old. Maybe it didn't bother her. Maybe her generation simply accepted it. I never heard her and my aunts commiserating about their sagging jowls and thinning hair, or feeling bad that men didn't pay attention to them any more. But I have to say, ALL my girlfriends talk about it. We obsess over it, fixate on it, get depressed about it, and we look waaaaaaaaaaay better than our moms did at our age. What's up with that? Did we think we were going to look young forever?
What will GenX, GenY and the millennials expect? Do they think they're going to find the fountain of youth before they get here? Well, hey kids, all I can say is speed up the search cuz I'm not getting any younger here.
8 comments:
I just read an article about how gray hair is caused by the simple fact that hydrogen peroxide builds up in the hair follicle. Apparently, it will one day be possible to take a pill or use some other treatment to keep your hair from turning gray. I wish they would hurry up with that!!
Not strictly relevant but I was talking about the Iliad and Helen of Troy to my 91 year old mother last month and her comment was: "well personally I never launched a thousand ships but certainly a canoe or two"
A little late for me, but I'll take whatever I can get!
You said it! Emotionally, I feel better than I ever have. At 52, I am very glad to be rid of all that youthful angst; to not give a shit what other people think of me. But physically? It just sucks bilge water. So strange to hear YOU talking about this tho, cuz. I think you look fabulous, no matter what your age! Love you, Jan
Gabriel, if we've launched a canoe I think we can consider ourselves triumphant!
Jan, it's all relative. All I can say is thank god for clothes, hair products and make-up.
I turn 29 in a month and at the ripe 'old' age of 28, I work with a trainer 3 times a week only to scoff at my reflection in the mirror. Your late 20's mark the first time that a beer goes directly to your love handles. What's up with back fat, anyway? I suppose at some point we accept the beauty in aging. But my mom is 58 and on her second round of P90X...so maybe that point comes later in life.
See, Kristen, that's what I mean. Quit scoffing cuz you're gorgeous! Unfortunately you won't appreciate it until you're my age.
What's P90X - do I need some???!!
BTW, 'beauty in aging' is an oxymoron.
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