Stephanie: “Mom, great outfit! (turquoise t-shirt, jeans, bright coral cardigan) “You look so young! You need to dye your hair.”
My hair is gray. Different shades of gray. Whitish in the front, darker in the back. But all gray. I like it.
Me: “No, actually I don’t need to. This is me.”
Comfortable, mildly stylish clothes. At 61, not so young, but also not old. Cool, definitely cool.
She stared at me for a few seconds and said, “I still think you should dye your hair.”
She is 35. And already talking about Botox for wrinkles. I tell her to just buy really good moisturizer and use it faithfully. Especially on the neck and chest.
“I believe we older people risk wasting the second half of our lives in unconscious compliance with a youth-obsessed culture.” (Lynne Morgan Spreen) We need an alternative to the belief that maintaining the appearance of youth is an antidote to aging.
We don’t even have name for this time of life, 55-70! At 61, there is no question I’m beyond middle age, though I stretched it out through my fifties. I don’t know when “old” starts. I think it depends on which birthday you last celebrated.
Every morning, I walk down the driveway (actually, the retired man I live with walks down more than I do), get the newspaper and come in to have a cup of tea while I read words printed on newsprint that I hold in my hands. No matter how many times they redesign the website, I will not cancel my subscription to the printed version. We older folks like to turn paper pages. Most days I just read the front page, the obituaries, the editorials, the letters to the editor, the comics, and horoscopes for me and my family.
I started reading the obituaries years ago when I worked as a volunteer coordinator at Hospice. I learned you don’t have to be old to die, but back then they were usually older than I was. Most still are, but not all. A lot are in their 60’s. A good day is when everyone who died is older than me. Is that weird?
So, fellow boomers, what stage of life is 55-70? We need a name. Got any ideas?
Amma Ponders 
We are in limbo.
So true. Guess we should focus on today, huh?
I like the sentence saying that we need an alternative to the belief that maintaining the appearance of youth is an antidote to aging. Even if I try to maintain the appearance of youth, I know that what is on my insides is not young (arthritic knees, digestive issues, etc.) and it makes me feel conflicted.
I suggest calling us seasoned.
That’s 2 votes for “Seasoned”!
Seasoned is great; maybe Elders, Wisdom-Tenders…I envy your beautiful hair color(s) and also enjoy reading newspapers. Really miss my Sunday paper…
Elders, maybe. Another friend suggested Cruisers–we’re cruising from 55-70.
I absolutely get this!!!!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Cathy.
I don’t know what I would call us, but this period takes some adjustment. My inside self is having a hard time keeping up with my outside self. I don’t feel all that different than I did at thirty-five–except maybe I am more at peace, and more interested in the success of those around me than I am in my own success. It feels, these days, as if anyone’s success is good for all of us.
I too have no intention of dyeing my hair. The silver threads look good!
Yay for gray! My inside age and my chronological age are drifting apart. And that’s ok.
How about The Cruisers? We’re cruising down life’s highway between 55 and 70, with experience behind us and adventures ahead.
Love it!
I love it to, and I’m not dyeing my hair! How about Bruisers? I am starting to bruise more easily than I used to. . .
I am, too. But I blame it on medication not age!
Lovely post. I hated the word ‘retirement’ when I took the leap from my corporate life into my next stage. So I told everyone at my retirement party to look up the word “retire” in the dictionary and see why that wasn’t me. After working for 36 years, I told everyone I considered this my “arrivement” and I’ve never looked back. This is the perfect time in our lives to enjoy every minute and do all those things on that secret list we’ve kept hidden, mostly from ourselves. It’s about not putting our health issues as the main focus of our lives. It’s about giving back and paying it forward. Life is good, even as the wrinkles increase and you can’t see the dust on the furniture anymore. And taking the time to enjoy blogs like yours.
Thanks, Pat, for reading. My life is full these days and I am grateful.
I love Cruisers! And stick to your guns about your hair. I color mine and want to stop, but the transition is more than I can handle. One of my friends said she just wore a hat for a couple of months, but I look terrible in hats!
I let mine go gray by having my hair person go one shade lighter each time I came in (her idea!). I was afraid of stripes, but it went pretty well. Slow, though. The whole process took about a year. Good luck, Susan!
Loved this post. I’m 53 1/2. (now let’s not forget that 1/2). I guess the more advanced in age (Notice my avoidance of the word “older”?) we get, the faster the years go by, but we don’t want them to go so fast – so I like “cruisers” as the other commenter suggested!
So do I !!
Loved this post! Don’t have a suggestion for this age–you and are enjoying 61, I note–but for me, it is an age of peace for I am content more often than not and when I churn away, not such a long trip back.
Karen
I don’t have enough extra energy to “churn away” for long. And, yes, you’re right, there is much about 61 to enjoy.