How Old Are You? Oh Please!
February 27th, 2018 my most beloved mother in law took her last breath said goodbye to this world and was united with the angels above in the sky! She was “FREE”!
I looked at her with teary eyes, lying peacefully in the casket all dressed in a beautiful radiant red saree, scintillating neckpiece and a big round bindi on her forehead, I had a million questions running through my brain! She had the most calming and gentle expression on her face, free from strife! Her most captivating and winning smile is what she left for all of us to cherish for years to come. She was 81 and I would say she lived the most content life full of bliss and rapture. Every year we used to celebrate her birthday and her 80th was obviously a big one! Milestone it was and every person on the planet knew she had hit the big number. I still reminisce the day when I asked her ” Mom, so how old are you? Oh! I am 80 years old and I am so happy”! Interestingly, no hesitation whatsoever about revealing her true age! Do you know why she was so upbeat and joyous? Well, she had it all, a doting husband, caring children, adorable grandchildren and to top it, great-grandchildren, a complete life! What else can one ask for?
Try asking a woman her age now, do you ever get an honest reply? Wink, wink am sure you get my point as to what I am trying to convey! Well, the answer may be, you see ” I am 45 years old ” and boom our brain starts doing all the possible permutations and combinations with numbers to extract the right information. Hmmm !” Let’s add an average of 2 years to that and the answer will be exposed in less than a second! Wow!” She doesn’t look her age at all, is she really that old”? ( Now is that a compliment or simply saying, ” Come on lady just confess you are not young anymore and have all the botox done on your face”) Sigh! How about this one, ” Oh my gosh, she looks so much older than her age, why doesn’t she take botox”? Why can’t she act her age? What’s the big deal, so childish she is, she is not a teenager anymore, grow up”? So both ways we women can get into a knotty and sticky position! Reveal our age, TROUBLE! Do not reveal our age TROUBLE! What a big problem we women face, come on it’s only a number, nothing less or nothing more! Ahh, AGE! AGE!AGE!
Why is age so complicated and so deeply entrenched? Honestly, it’s nobody’s business to know but we are always so inquisitive and push or shove we use our detective brain to solve the mystery!
Every milestone we women hit, we get punctuated with new experiences, new goals, challenges, fears, and excitement to what the future holds for us! The twenties and thirties are all about vision, dreams, goals, remunerative career, fitting into the most sensuous dress, finding the most “perfect” guy who will propose us under the moonlight, settling in the most gorgeous home, having a family and having a stress free life! Welcome forties, ( our new thirty ) life seems to take a total twist of events! Midlife crisis, aches and pains, belly bulge ( you know that permanent kangaroo pouch full of all the stubborn fatty tissue ), possible menopause, constant reminders from the gynecologist’s office, ” Time for your pap smear and mammogram “! How about, ” The day I turned 40 I suddenly felt my knees cracking and making rattling noises out of nowhere”! Looking at the mirror, we spot our strands of gray hair, and the panic attack starts! Time for a touch-up and it’s a gala time for the hairdresser, obviously one more loyal customer added to their list. Well, turning forty is no picnic, but hey, look at it this way, you have achieved so much and have come a long way! Then why the sudden switch-on of the panic and jitter button? Why does getting old add so much gravity to our thought process? Why do we start hiding our age overnight? What is the reason for such a dramatic shift of emotions? Life should be a bit smoother and the frenzied juggle between family and work should have slowed down to an easier ebb and flow! Yay! more time to connect with girlfriends, going for a girls night out, more shopping and above all have some “ME” time!
I believe age is just a number and all in the mind! There’s even a new term to describe people with this no-age mindset, ” Perennials”’. It was coined by US internet entrepreneur Gina Pell, 49, who explains, ‘Perennials are ever-blooming, relevant people of all ages who know what’s happening in the world, stay current with technology and have friends of all ages. We get involved, stay curious, mentor others, and are passionate, compassionate, creative, confident, collaborative, global-minded risk takers.’
You have to keep yourself youthful and full of buoyancy. That does not mean looking 22 etc…all through or go through plastic surgery making yourself look like a caricature or a stranger that nobody recognizes including yourself! Don’t scare the mirror away, please!
Wear the right clothes, flaunt yourself, pamper yourself, fuel your confidence, create memories, find the silver lining, build meaningful connections, get off the hedonic treadmill but above all ” JUST BE YOURSELF “! Be your best friend and watch how all become so accepting of us!
So remember, next time when someone asks you your age, just spill the beans! Doesn’t matter what age bracket you are sailing in, after all, it’s how we live our life that matters the most!
“ Dance, smile, giggle, marvel, trust, hope, love, wish, believe, and most of all, enjoy every moment of the journey, appreciate where you are at this moment instead of always focusing on how far you have to go.” ~― Mandy Hale, The Single Woman: Life, Love and a Dash of Saas
NaMāste
#theboldwithinme
Love, peace, and blessings!
Preet
Loved ❤️ It !
Learned a new term perinnials 😉✅
Misha
Loved it doc !! Beautiful read
Jeenu
Sweety, as usual you have been successful in capturing all the details needed to exemplify beauty of a lady at ea decade of life! Kudos to you yet again! Live genuinely in every aspect of life- live fully in the present, love aging gracefully, and above all “own it”!