The Age Thing

I don't know if I've been directly asked my age since I started this blog, regardless I've been quite deliberate in not mentioning it for a couple of reasons.

1. It pigeonholes people.  We  live in a society of ageism and people can easily discount present experience based on a number.

2. People like filling in the blanks themselves, it's fun to use your imagination.

Don't get too excited I'm not going to reveal my age in this post either, but I thought I'd address it because some people are intent on throwing insults at me regarding their guesses.  I want to share with you, dear readers,  that I'm not offended by any guess.  I have never said I'm a young thing.  My pictures although disguised for anonymity are recent and people could guess and still be wrong.  In my real life (outside the internetz) I'm never guessed for my real age so I don't know how anyone could guess it here.  I've recently been told I look 29 which heck compared to some hit the wall really early types could be accurate.  I'm a huge advocate for staying out of the sun unless using sunscreen and no smoking, add in maintaining a reasonable body weight and you have a recipe for success on aging.  I'm guess you can say I'm proud of the way I look but I know that it takes effort.  And yes at a certain point you reach the stage where styling (hair, make-up, clothes) is required to stay attractive.  No longer are you able to let youth work its magic but I can honestly say that never in my life have I felt more beautiful.

When I was in my late teens and twenties I had no idea how hot I was.  You have to remember that you're surrounded by youth and constant comparison occurs.  I was a beauty queen (crowned) and still didn't feel I was all that.  Was I?  Yep.  But I had no appreciation for it.  I was swept off my feet at 20 by my ltr (long term relationship) and didn't date much before hand, I really didn't know how marketable I was.  I'm glad I didn't.  I was protected from the "cock carousel".  By the time I was single those days were gone.  I was working and had matured and skipped the clubbing days altogether.  Yay!

I always had a sense of style and have maintained it.  I know how to do hair and make-up from my theatre days and use those skills on myself.  I haven't gotten obese.  I am very young at heart and my friends are most often much younger than I am.  This is not to recapture youth, it's just where I fit.  I have an energized spirit and am current with today's culture, I refuse to become locked into a way of thinking or behaving.  These things keep me from rapid aging or what we perceive as aging.

I want young women to know that their relevance isn't about a decade (the 20's), I want them to know that they can age gracefully and their lives can still be meaningful.  I also want them to know that men love youth and beauty and that youth is transient and will leave them.  Yes it does change market value in terms of marriage and it certainly affects fertility, so there's value in not frittering it away. Learning to make wise choices which have long term value is very beneficial.  Big picture thinking stuff.

My approach is this: Take care of yourself (physical, mental, spiritual, emotional) and your life throughout the ages will be better off.

(So insult away trolls, but know that nothing you can say will take away my thankfulness for being who I am and what I look like today - just sayin')