How Do You Feel About Aging?

I’m going to share something with you.  I have STRUGGLED with getting older.  I mean, I never did until after I hit 50.  After that, things got noticeably different and I felt different.

I know, hormones change and fluctuate and vacate the premises leaving us in this weird state of being that nobody can ever prepare you for.  #ifyouknowyouknow

Grey hair.  Wrinkles.  A little extra weight.   Looking at your reflection in the mirror and not recognizing who you see.  The thought “when did I get so old?” creep into your brain.

I started to really “see it” when I first let my hair go grey during the pandemic.  Then I noticed a few more wrinkles.  Neck wrinkles!  What the heck!  How do I hide those? (smile) and then I hit my 50th birthday and I coloured my hair again only to regret it almost immediately because not only did that mean going through the very lengthy process of growing out the grey again (someday), but mostly because I didn’t feel like myself.  I felt I was trying to cover up and be someone I wasn’t.  And no, that is in no way a dis to anyone who colours their hair.  I love seeing beautiful colours on women.  I just felt I couldn’t keep up with covering up my roots, and I was trying to do it with the boxed colours that never seemed to match and I just gave up out of frustration.

My oldest daughter says I should go back to colouring my hair when I hit 60.  (smile).   We’ll see.  Every time I see an older picture where I coloured my hair I’m so tempted to go back to bold colours.

It’s not right or wrong. It’s what FEELS GOOD TO YOU that matters.

But hair colour is just a part of getting older.  It’s feeling good in your skin.  It’s style.  It’s personality.  It’s feeling relevant.  It’s feeling purpose.

So much changes as you get older and big life changes happen.  Kids leave home.  Menopause.  Aging parents.  We start examing our lives, our legacy and more.

I saw something online today that I wanted to share because I think so many of us need the reminder that it’s okay to embrace who we are without trying to be something or someone else.  Linda Hamilton, who is 69 by the way, is speaking up and talking about her rejection of Hollywood beauty standars and cosmetic surgery.

She says, “This is the face that I’ve earned.  Instead of leaning into the current anti-aging obsession, Linda is focusing on taking care of her body, prioritizing yoga and pilates in her routine.

Love that.  There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look younger, feel younger and do the things that help you FEEL good about yourself.  There’s also power in accepting yourself for as you are and not trying to change who you are and how you look.  Grey hair, wrinkles and all.

I don’t know if YOU needed to be reminded of that, but I sure did.

Categorised in: Afternoons

This post was written by Carrie Buchanan