Knowing About the Scary Parts of Aging Isn’t the Same as Feeling Them
What your middle-aged self never expected
What’s the first thing you visualize when you contemplate getting old? Is it physical signs of aging? Wrinkles, saggy skin, gray hair, and maybe even losing an inch of height? As you can see above, all that happened to me. These changes may all be part of the package, but aging is so much more.
They say you are only as old as you feel. That’s only partially true. As I approach the end of my seventh decade, I sense a divide between the messages in my mind and body. My sense of who I am hasn’t aged. I’m still the young child, the insecure teen, the young adult who thought she could take the world by the tail, the bride, the parent, and the bereaved mom who came later. All those are part of me. So are the bookseller, the writer, the baker, the teacher, and the friend.
My past and present have merged in my self-image of a competent woman with a sense of adventure who doesn’t mind traveling or hiking alone - a person who can take care of herself. That image only becomes confused when I consider the future.
Aging means scary changes
I can only speak for myself since each of us confronts unique challenges as we age. I probably have it easier than…
