I don't especially like Andy Rooney, and according to this snopes article, he isn't particularly fond of women over 40.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/rooney2.asp
However, I disagree with the man. Older women rock this world!
The very best thing about being an "older woman" is the freedom to suit yourself about so many things. To have the confidence to go your own way without a quibble. It is wonderful, quite exhilarating, finally discovering that freedom!
29 was tougher than 39 for me. Somewhere in those ten years I became more complete and confident. As I march bravely towards the Crone Age, I try to live a life without regrets and very much in the moment. I'm in no hurry to let gravity win over my body or color my hair on a more regular basis, but there are also the benefits of self discovery and the falling away of the insecure little girl who was raised to please others.
I was once told that women of a certain age become invisible, as if we are blanketed in a social burkah. I like to think that is not so true anymore. My mother at 70 looks better than her mother did at 55. She divorced my father at 65 and now has a boyfriend with whom she travels the world with. Perhaps the best is yet to come. We don't have to reach for the blue rinse and sensible shoes of previous generations. We have the freedom to hold onto our dynamics. I pay better attention to the day to day living of life, perhaps because I no longer see time as endless and myself as immortal. I've always had fun, but now I appreciate it more.
The sunset can be more spectacular than the sunrise.
Great site. Thanks, Diane. I'll be back to post.
Letty, why can't you travel?
Kara, how wonderful to see you. Husband is quite ill, honey, and I can't go with him and can't go without him.
I'm gonna bookmark fro now. I miss the Crones. Has anyone heard from or about Ethelred?
Oh...reading with interest...trying to sort out my own feelings, which seem to be...bittersweet.
That's not to suggest angst...or maybe it is.
Acceptance...would be nice...I seem to be struggling a little with that.
Most days it seems like a small glimpse out of the corner of my eye.
Perhaps I'll grow in to it. That would be...good.
Love this thread, Diane.
Hello all.
With admiration,
A burgeoning crone.
Ha, green witch, I've worn only comfortable shoes since the day I bought two pair of 4" high heels - two! in different colors! and found out they killed my feet. I was just around thirty then. Anyway, I loved your post.
Swimpy, Ethelred is recovering from a stroke. She's improving slowly. She's still Ethelred--sharp mind, sharp tongue.
I think I was born old. Actually being the age I've often felt myself to be is, in a way, relaxing. I love wearing "grandma" shoes. Love not caring about stuff that used to take up too much of my time and energy. The down side? Health issues. But I wouldn't go back to 20 or 30. Too many peripheral issues. Now I focus on what's important to me. The rest be damned.
LOL. Dasha, your mother sounds like a real crone! You and most of the young women on a2k are certainly crone material. Age isn't as important as attitude and adaptability and openness. You are there dear Dasha, as is littlek.
Soozoo, thanks for the link to Snopes! I would say something like f+++ Rooney, but that would be doing him a favor!
As for old Ben, his letter is of and age and Ben himself was such an adorable old rogue, that I found myself laughing out loud.
Welcome to A2K, soozoo. I enjoyed you post and hope to see more.
GreenWitch--that was fantastic. I love the fact that young women (you are still young!) are much more aware of their own value than women were when I was young.
Being raised to please, that was the killer for so many of us as well as the so-called morality of the day--if you get pregnant your life will be ruined. It is still like that, but not so bad as forty years ago.
thanking you and bowing ever so slightly <not to throw my back out. happens, even at 29!>
Joeblow, yes, the getting there can be hell. So much of our lives are spent assisting, nurturing and raising children, putting ourselves aside as if we don't count. Not that the nurturing is bad--I look back on when my kids were young and feel both relief that they are grown and sadness that those years of "Mommy" are gone.
While age has never really mattered, one thing I've noticed now that menopause is over, is that I see young women and remember those days, being fertile, having elastic skin, experiencing the "firsts" of children. I especially noticed this when Dys and I visited shewolfnm and her husband in Austin. They are a lovely couple, very much in love with an adorable daughter--who fell in love with Dys, by the way. They are in their prime and they seem to be aware of the wonder in their lives.
Anyway, my hair is thin, my skin has lost its elasticsity and I don't have the strength or the endurance I had thirty years ago, but the rewards of all those years are incomparable. I actually like who I am. That, to me, has been an epiphany.
Karamia and swimpy, please come back. I can hardly wait to read your take on aging.
I do wish ethelred would come back I think there is some reticence because of her stroke. Maybe she can be persuaded...
I like being able to enjoy the foods I enjoy, the music I enjoy, the people I enjoy, the hobbies I enjoy just because I enjoy them and not because someone else thinks I should. I've always had a strong sense of self but lately I realise I enjoy things because they bring me pleasure and, all else be damned, they don't have to please anyone else!
Bookmark.
Also want to add that I very much enjoy the company of our A2K crones. It's hard to know ages on an online board until you spend a lot of time on it. Your wisdom and humor shines, and your advice and opinions are very much appreciated, at least by this pre-crone.
Crones are cool. I might hang around here for a bit.
OhMyGawd, gustav, I love your signature.
