I remember my Dad saying to me a few years ago that when he looks in the mirror he sees this old man staring back at him and he cannot understand as he still feels like a 30 year old on the inside. 

Well my father is celebrating  his 87th birthday this Saturday and in traditional Australian style we will all gather for a bar-b-cue. 

When I say all, I mean his 10 children, 30 something grand-children and half a dozen great grand-children and of course, my Mum.  I have been thinking about what he said a few years ago and its only now that I understand and can identify what he means. 

I went back to work full time recently only to be told quite nicely that I was in fact the oldest person in the Company!  Now in my defence I can only say that being a web development studio that doesnt necessarily mean I am that old as typically most people in this industry are quite young.  Anyway the comment rattled me a bit and when I went home that night took a good long look in the mirror. 

My goodness he was right!  Age had begun to creep up on me without me noticing.  I still feel in my twenties in so many ways but am struggling to understand how the world sees me.  Even when I go to buy something to wear I now have reached the point of questioning appropriateness for my age!  Can you believe it!  Where in the rule book is it written that we have some dress code we are to adhere to once we reach a certain age?  I want to fight it and wear what the hell I want to regardless of what anyone thinks and then I have to stop myself…..the children, what will they think? 

My children are all in their mid twenties but who wants to see their Mum strutting her stuff in a mini skirt? 

So as I think about my father’s impending birthday celebrations I remember my daughter saying to me once “Mum  you will never be this beautiful again, so get out there and wear whatever you want!  I think age is such an over-rated topic, and society really imposes all sorts of ideas on what we should and shouldnt do or think or wear and I say “to hell with it, we pass this way but once, make the most of it!”

Written by

MaryAnn Roche

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 24th, 2010 at 8:17 am and is filed under Aging, Self Esteem and Confidence. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.