You're Only As Old As You Feel

While I was at the grocery store today, I saw a white-haired woman doing her shopping. She was obviously a senior citizen, dressed in pink from head to toe, carrying a large, pink-sequined purse. I wanted so much to take her picture. She was genuinely pretty in pink, but what struck me about her was that she must feel a whole lot younger on the inside than she looked to be on the outside. She was dressed like a teenager and probably felt like one, too, even though she appeared to be older than my mother.

Not very many years ago I would have chuckled at this little old lady, thinking that she should act, and dress, her age. Now that I'm older, I finally "get it" about the young-on-the-inside-despite-the-aging-body feeling that it turns out many, perhaps most, baby boomers and senior citizens feel. I would have dismissed her as being slightly eccentric, refusing to grow up. Little would I have known that someday soon, that would be me.

Now, my own body is noticeably aging, my hair graying, skin sagging, joints aching, but my mind doesn't feel any older than it used to. Now, I understand. I'm not senile, not eccentric (well, maybe just a little) and I will continue to wear my college girl hoodies and my colorful Crocs with polka-dot socks just because I like them. I expect that as time goes by some younger people will judge me, but I won't hold that against them. Someday they'll be where I am now, and they'll understand, too.

I wish I would have had time to strike up a conversation with that lady this morning but, as usual, I was in a hurry. I really wanted to get a closer look at her groovy pink shoes.

Picture by geraintwn

(This true story was originally published on Timeless Bliss. Copyright Susan Deppner, all rights reserved)

You're only as old as you feel by susan52z
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"Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." Mark Twain

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When our college student son saw me wearing my new black-and-white striped hoodie with the pink Supergirl insignia on the front, he told me I looked like a 19-year-old college girl. He assured me that he likes 19-year-old college girls, so that was a good thing. This middle-aged mom hadn't heard a comment like that in a while so I sucked in my tummy a little bit more, smiled, and enjoyed it!

Later, when I bragged about the remark to my husband, our son said, "Wait a minute. I said that looks like something a 19-year-old college girl would wear. I didn't say that you look like a 19-year-old college girl." I told him I heard what I heard and liked it much better my way. That's my version of the story and I'm sticking with it!

Sometimes, seeing ourselves as we think others see us can be a good thing. As long as there's not a mirror nearby.

(Originally published on Timeless Bliss. Copyright Susan Deppner, all rights reserved)

"Maybe it's true that life begins at fifty .. But everything else starts to wear out, fall out, or spread out." Phyllis Diller

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"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving."
Albert Einstein

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"I am not young enough to know everything." Oscar Wilde

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