WHEW! AT LEAST I DON'T LOOK AS OLD AS SHE DOES. DO I?

WELCOME TO MIDLIFE MEMOS
THE SWAMP GODDESS® GUIDE TO MENOPAUSAL
 MAYHEM AND AGING ANGST
BLOG #4 by Wendy Kyman, Ph.D.
WHEW! AT LEAST I DON'T LOOK AS OLD AS SHE
DOES. DO I?


Has this happened to you?
You run into an acquaintance - someone our age. It has been
some time since you last saw each other. While you are catching
up on events in each other's lives, you are also taking a silent inventory.

It goes something like this:

•   Neck - mine doesn't have that many lines
•   Eyes - her crow's feet are barely noticeable - hmm - botox?
•   Jowls - yikes, hers are really hanging - even more than 
•       mine!  I didn't know that was anatomically possible.
•   But wait, she's sleeveless! How does she keep her arms toned 
•           enough to go sleeveless?

This internal dialogue continues while our external dialogue is all about sharing pleasantries.

Are we being mean? No.

Our contemporaries are a measuring stick of how we are doing in the aging process. We see ourselves reflected through them.

Another version:

We meet someone - it could happen anywhere - in line at Macy's, introduced by a mutual friend, whatever. Unlike our friends and acquaintances, we do not know her exact age.

Still, we do the silent inventory and conclude that she is older and we don't look like her because she looks ... well ... old.

Then:

This supposedly older woman says something horrific, such as: 'at our age...'

Excuse me! Did she just put me in her age bracket? 

What did she see? Does this mean I look as old to her as she looks to me? Ouch!

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

For those who are really 60, but claim to be 50 - do you ever wonder:

         Is it better to look bad for 50 or good for 60?

If you ever play the dangerous game of asking others to guess your

true age, be prepared with a response if they guess older. Yikes! 

UNHOMEWORK

What body parts do you focus on when measuring yourself against

others? Why did you choose these?

What body part do you like best? Describe

What body part do you like least? Describe

NEXT WEEK'S TOPIC

AGING IS HUMBLING

           Remember being young and time wasn't that important...

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