I’m 65 years old, and have worked with the older generation all my young adult life. When I became an older adult, I chaired a program that monitored the well-being of the elderly in my religious community. Normally I would see them weekly, but sometimes, I wouldn’t see anyone for months. If more than a month went by, I was amazed how much they aged since I last saw them. I never thought much about how fleeting one’s age can be until Mother Nature came knocking at my door.
Sitting at the doctor’s office with my 93 year old friend Irene, I would often complained about there not being enough time to do the things I needed to do. Irene would respond, “Wait ‘til you reach my age - time passes faster.” I never truly understood that until now.
Like magic, one night during my dormant hours, my body underwent a metamorphous. I woke up with noticeable jowls. When I got on the scale that evening, I was 5 pounds heavier from a soup and salad diet. A couple of months later as I was combing my hair, I realized I had a developed a double chin, and the scale that night read five more pounds.
When I first looked in the mirror I asked, “Who are you?” Then I asked the person looking back at me, if I had eaten something other than soup and salad, would my face have changed. “Sure it would have,” I said loudly and totally annoyed. Nowadays when I look into the mirror, I acknowledge that person even though I see someone I don’t recognize. It’s a different me, an older me.
Irene told me every seven years you change. I always thought this transformation was mental. For the past 56 years of my life, I had noticed a chance in my attitude, ideals and practices, with only minor modifications to my physical body. I rather took pride in looking younger than my age.
Lately though, I’ve taken notice of movie and media personalities that I grew up with over the years. There it was the double chin and that undeniable roundness that attacks the upper arms and middle section. I even had to redefine my bra size to include the bust line under my armpits that was never there before – I have yet to find a bra that will contain this new figure. Then there are the women in the stores, especially the ones I couldn’t tell how old they were- now I can. Youth has a wonderful profile.
I would like to conclude with two more thoughts. I often wondered why older women’s looked as if they had never wore makeup before, and why all those smaller sized clothes end up in boxes at the back of the closet. I told myself that one day I would wear them again, but the reality of it is I’ll never put them on again. Maybe next year, I’ll give the clothes to charity. As for the makeup, I have to admit I wear it more now than I did when I was younger, and pray I never lose my touch applying it. If I do, I will stop wearing it all together.
I wonder what shape my next body metamorphosis will experience. Will it be my last metamorphosis? Anticipating these changes, I’ve decided to slow down this physical body modification by walking more and snacking less. I must understanding when a young person passes me on the tracks it’s just an act of passing the torch. Also, when the young think I don’t get it, know that wisdom for them is yet to come. For me the most important and meaningful thing I can do for myself is accept, refine, and enjoy what’s given me.
Leaving a Voice
Followers
Blog Archive
About Me
- Ayna's Collections
- New to the writing world, I live with my husband of twenty years in Chicago, Illinois. I have been retired from the work force for fifteen years doing small jobs to earn money and keep constructively busy. I love to garden and have been painting and drawing all of my life. Although challenged with the English language, I found comfort when writing came into my life in the form of rhyming verses. Poetry was an outlet for emotions I needed to express, and because I am dyslexic, this form was easy for me. Later, after 17 years of research, I wrote and published my first book called People of Difference, which is a paternal genealogy study. It was after writing People of Difference that I decide to try my hand at actually writing a short fictional novel. In 1983, I wrote and published Moments of Feelings – a fictional story about a young girl starting life on her own. I received so much pleasure from writing Moments of Feelings that I decided to learn the trade of writing. Although I haven’t written a lot of poetry since I’ve started my ‘late in life endeavor,’ I am hoping the world will keep me on my toes in developing the skills of writing.
