THE AGELESS ABYSS
All of the sudden all the people around me are starting to have those milestone birthdays. You know the ones, where you suddenly find yourself saying, ‘how did we all get here so fast?” In fact, I’m staring down the barrel at my own milestone birthday. It’s not here yet, but it’s close enough to make me feel mildly sick to my stomach. As you can see, I’m not mentioning which birthday it is…so just imagine I’m 29, alright?
All of this age business of course got me thinking about the power of a number. How much emphasis society places on age, how much we ourselves allow ourselves to be qualified by a number, and for women especially, how that number can be as daunting as a trip to an amusement park in the dead of summer with a busload of screaming kids (that just makes me want to run and hide thinking about it).
You read all the time about people who were let go from certain jobs cause they were too old, or deemed too young and inexperienced, or even couples who split up over age differences even though they seem to work just fine; of course there are plenty of couples whose age difference is a major impediment cause when the man was on his first marriage, the woman wasn’t even born yet. But let’s stay on course, shall we.
So here’s my latest idea, after the good milestone birthdays (one’s first birthday; 16 years old, 21...all those are highly palatable) we abolish placing a number on age. Obviously we can’t stop aging, but we can certainly get rid of the number that goes along with it. Let’s be honest, how many times have you uttered the phrase, ‘but I don’t feel – (insert number).’ Or, ‘I am so tired, I feel 105.’ In fact, at any given time in your life, you can feel a variety of ages simultaneously. [Maybe I have multiple personalities, but I can’t be the only one that feels like this?] So in many instances, the actual number we have reached almost seems irrelevant.
Do you feel how hard I’m working here??
Then the fun bit would be the guessing game; in short, you have the incentive to look as good as you can, be healthy and yet, never have to reveal your age. So I’m thinking that this whole regime should start once you hit 30. After that, you simply fall into a blissful state of age abyss where no one knows your age, and no one ever will again. No longer will one hear, “you look great for your age.” Now it will be, you simply look great. 'Why thank you!' No longer will it be, “will you love me when I’m 65?” The answer will of course be, I will love you regardless you ageless Goddess...or it damn well better be. :-)