Aging in America…Is That Really Me?!

So, my son took a picture of me for my profile. Needless to say, he did some touching up. Glossing over splotchy skin, lightening a few shadows…and the end result? This gray haired old lady staring back at me. And everyone else who stops by. The WEIRD thing is, when I look in the mirror, I don’t look TOO bad. However, the camera magnifies EVERY flaw. In a spectacular way. So for those of you who look at the pic and think, ‘oh, it’s an older lady’, that’s AFTER the touch-ups! Yeah…so besides wrinkles, the most amazing part of aging is that your nose completely morphs. It seems to take on a life of it’s own. No resemblance to the nose I sported as a younger version of me. Nosirree. It seems to have gotten longer, LARGER, and a side view shows my dad and my grandpa’s profile. That’s right people. My GRANDPA. Who was a great guy, by the way. The key word here is GUY. Now, I am an artist so I do tend to really pick apart facial features: jawline, the shape of a nose, the shape of the eyes, the curve of the mouth, etc. my point? The evil, demon possessed camera gives you a BIG ol’ reality check. (Surely I’m not THAT chunky)?! Look back at your 20 something pics. The transformation is breathtaking from 20 to 60. Through all those decades you’re so busy living life that the gradual changes don’t seem that noticeable. Ah, but somewhere towards the winding down of the 50’s and dawning of the 60’s it kind of hits you like a Mac truck. Several times. I’m really getting older! So there you have it. You still feel like you, but you’re trapped in this body that doesn’t really reflect who you are inside. Another fun fact: it dawns on you that young people look at you differently. “Do you want the senior discount today, sweetie”? SWEETIE?! When did I become SWEETIE??!! I wasn’t “sweetie” in my 30’s or 40’s! (Although, admittedly there are much worse things people could call me…). Still. It’s freaky. Because I’m still me. Looking out the windows of a very different package. And since we’re in America, where youth is worshipped and old age is distained, it’s just an odd feeling. I promised myself not to be the type of person who is constantly trying to recapture youth because it can’t be recaptured. And nothing is more pathetic than an older person dressing WAY younger than their years (Cher), or trying to act like an overgrown teenager. It just comes across all wrong. Nor do I want to act like a ‘little old lady’. There has to be a balance; where we can grow old gracefully, have fun and just be who we are. Amen. Love to all. Lollybutt. 🙂