Have you heard people say that 6o is the new 40?  Yeah right.  You can bet the only people who say that are 60+.  Nobody wants to get old, but Baby Boomers have taken their denial to a whole new level.  There has never been a demographic so strongly opposed to aging in the history of our planet.  You can count me among them.  I think I look 40 when in fact I look my age, 61.  I’m not fishing for compliments. That’s me in the photo with my son and his roommate.  I look my age.  I look like Ryan’s Mom.  I’m OK with that.  While I wish I was one of those women who actually does look 40 at 60, I’m not.  I look like what I am.

Here’s the thing:  I am beginning to realize that people don’t get what they paid for when they take a look at me. On appearance only, I am 61, but in my mind, I am 40.  Imagine me walking into a company that is looking for an intern (yes, I am an intern at a web design firm).  The interviewer is expecting someone who is twenty-something to walk in the door and sees Grannie Clampett take a seat. It’s a little puzzling, right?

I Wish I Looked How I Feel

Not out of vanity, but out of pride (Of course out of vanity.  I wish I had my 40-year-old body and face.  It took a lot less time to get ready back then. Much less spackling and corralling to do.).   I am proud of who I am now.  I am not a bitter old woman (I have to say that I feel that men often seem to be a little more bitter about aging than women.  Maybe it’s because so many of them are Peter Pans at heart and can’t believe that they don’t get special treatment by Mother Nature.).  I just wish the packaging was more indicative of the product.  (OK, this is a little dirty, but it comes to mind.  My mother had a friend who used to say, “I just want a snatch to match my thatch.” Hope no one is offended!)

If I had my 40-year-old body and face I could walk into a room and others would size me up exactly as I feel I am, saving me the time and energy it takes to prove that I am young at heart and in mind.  I wish others could see that the ice cream hasn’t melted in this container!