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Hips swinging in her bodycon Armani dress, she walks across the tile floor, heels clicking. Ahhh, it’s good to be tall!
She meets people’s eyes, smiles, demurely looks down, then repeats., “Mmmm, so delicious having the eyes of all follow you across the restaurant.” She sits down, views the room and picks up the menu. Mimosa, maybe?
At 73, with her black, elastic-waisted pants and the “I love Grandma” tee-shirt on, she walk/runs across to the restaurant trying to keep up with her grandkids. Thank goodness she has on sensible shoes. Everyone looks up to see what all the noise is about. Of course, the minute the kids sit, silence prevails as they begin to text or play games. But first, the menu and the battle of ordering for tweens and teens. She wouldn’t have it any other way.
Yep, that’s the dream. Would you prefer to have that bodycon Armani or the sensible shoes? The choice is yours and both are worthy. What’s important is that you dismiss the words “over the hill” and “senior” from your vocabulary. Yes, we’re older but, like the common the adage, aged wine is fine wine.
Gabriel García Márquez states it beautifully, “It is not true that people stop pursuing their dreams because they grow old; they grow old because they stop pursuing their dreams.”
When dad turned 90, I realized 60 was young (and I wasn’t quite there yet). Think about it, the first 30 years, you’re finding your way, the next 30 years you’re working your way, and the last 30-plus years you should do it your way.
With today’s technology and car-ride services, there is no excuse to stay at home if you want to get out. Your goal is to be relevant. I know an octogenarian amateur playwright who is writing his memoirs, an octogenarian jeweler and an octogenarian awar-winning real estate agent. All are happy and “pursuing their dreams.”
The magic word is thrive! Do not buy into the fact that you’re old and “can’t do things like you used to.” In fact, that’s the good news. Think of all the decisions you’ve made in your life. Which ones turned out better for you: those you made in your 20s or your 40s, 40s or 60s? Maturity brings confidence, wisdom and better decision making. Why is that: because we’ve had more life experiences. This begets the question of when we reach “old age” why are so many willing to settle for mere survival?
Can we change the language? Seniors are old people. Elders are the wise ones, those with wisdom, experience — sages. All forms of religion, countries and cultures honor their “elders” and it’s time to reclaim that title for the Boomers. We are wise. Let’s go party.
