Went to a surprise party last night for a friend turning fifty. As I am six weeks from sixty, I was marveling at her youth, at the wealth of time ahead of her.
A few years ago, when husband Bob turned sixty, my mother, then eighty, said, "You tell him I've had twenty good years after sixty so far. I love the "so far." Now she's eighty-six and still a party animal.
I'm trying to figure out what to make of aging. For a while, it was just dry skin. Then it became really dry skin, etc. Emphasis on etcetera. But the age of sixty has connotations.
It gives me the impulses to speed up and to slow down. I think I probably alternate.
Maybe it's possible to age without a strategy, just by keeping on pedaling as usual and noting what does or does not change.
This morning I was considering the awfully expensive skin cream Stryvectin. I've already decided to celebrate by taking a one-month sublet in Manhattan next October, which will likely also be good for business. (New York has always been my Plan B life, so I'm going to fit a collapsed version into one month.) I may have other lives I need to fit in soon. Interesting to think about. Aging both stirs and requires an extra dollop of boldness.
(I googled "turning sixty" and turned up 352,000 sites. Many highly verbal people have thoughts on their experience at this moment. Here's another writer's..)
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14 comments:
I've been giving some thought this week to turning sixty. It's a little over three years off for me, but I have friends who are closer. I have never minded getting older - thankful to do so as a matter of fact - but I do hear people say that sixty is a turning point of sorts. I think it will be for me too.
I like the idea of hurrying up and slowing down as part of the process.
Have you tried myrrh and calendula? I generally make my own creams when I'm at home and enjoy it a lot.
Peggy, I LOVE your idea of taking a sublet in Manhattan for the month of October. Can't wait to read the blog posts from that adventure!!
Haven't tried myrrh and calendula, K.B. I'm not much of a cook, so don't know if I have the patience for it. But if it's a miracle, I might well give it a try.
A friend who has two organs from other people shares your feeling of being happy to see the number climb, Mamie. I haven't had any health close calls to give me wisdom. But I do like the fact that I feel 25. (My 86 year old mom now says she feels 35.)
Thanks for the NY encouragement, Billie. For me, it's the ultimate celebration.
Well, it's a miracle that can take some time (Esther the Queen prepared for her marriage to the King by using a myrrh ointment for one year), but it's done wonders for me!
You don't have to be much of a cook, just be able to boil water. I generally use shea butter and a bit of coconut oil, myrrh and calendula, maybe comfrey as well.
Just boil some water, put it in a big bowl, put the measured shea butter and the coconut oil (I use a digital cooking scale to measure) into a smaller bowl and put it in the hot water so it heats the bowl. When the shea butter and coconut oil have gone liquid, whisk in the myrrh, calendula, and comfrey. Amounts can be found at almost any herbal website.
I use mainly shea butter with enough coconut oil to make it feel very luxurious, and I usually don't use more essential oil than about 10-12 total drops in a small 15 ml container, but you'll have to figure out what works for you -- just remember not to use too much! I think you said you use essential oils, so you probably know the pack drill!
Okay, K.B., I printed this out. When I muster exceptional boldness, I'll likely give it a shot. Esther and the King were more patient than I am, though.
Thanks for all this info. At the very least, I'll know at the back of my mind that the aging thing could be fixed, if I'd just take the time.
Oh, and I forgot!
My mother had this book when I was growing up, and I kept it, because I just thought it was just a perfectly hilarious period piece, with these great b&w photos with stars airbrushed in. One day, out of sheer idleness, I tried a couple of the exercises...and whoa, you coulda knocked me over the head when it worked.
If you click on the video clip on the index page, you can try that exercise, which works almost instantly. There's also a flabby chin exercise which shows results in about a week.
I wish they would put a DVD out of all the tv shows, they look like they're very useful. People used to tune in and do all the exercises as she taught them. :)
Amazing! I tried it and one eyebrow is visibly higher. Wow! And how funny!
Order the book. You have to do the exercises EXACTLY as she says, or they don't work or worse, they'll make the muscle stretch out, but if you get it right, they work fabulously!
BTW, Terry Pratchett once wrote that "inside every old person is a young person wondering what the hell happened."
Do you have to do the exercises every day? Does the effect linger long?
This is very exciting.
Well, I think Runge said you have to do them everyday. However, modern thought has it that you're supposed to give your muscles an off-day after a workout. I guess you'd probably want to experiment to find out what works best for you.
Could be that the facial muscles, which are, after all, designed for hard use throughout the day, could be like the abs, and get no harm whatsoever from working out day in and day out.
I think most people chose certain exercises for general use and then some for problem areas on their face, from what I can tell. Most of the people I've found quoted have said something like fifteen minutes to half an hour every day, maybe with weekends off or something.
I have always tended to just do a couple of the exercises, but once I get back home to my book, I think I'm going to have to start doing the general exercises more religiously, as I'm going to be 50 in a couple of years and want to keep my muscles in shape instead of having to do remedial exercise! ;)
Didn't know that about the abs.
Well, I'll update my blog photo if I start looking younger.
That'd be pretty cool!
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