Aged to Perfection

I’ve reached that stage of life where I no longer want my picture taken. Not because I’m ashamed of how I look or trying to hide from the camera. It’s because every time I see a picture of myself, I think, “Who is that woman?” In my head, I’m still me—the same personality, the same sense of humor, and the same person I’ve always been.

The strange thing about aging is that it sneaks up on you. One day you’re taking pictures, and the next you’re volunteering to be the photographer. Women have it the worst. Everywhere you look, someone is reversing, freezing, fighting, injecting, lifting, tightening, or filtering aging until they resemble a startled cartoon character. Apparently we’re supposed to spend retirement trying to look like we just graduated college.

I don’t want to look 22. I survived 22. I paid my dues for these laugh lines. I earned every gray hair, wrinkle, and reminder that I’ve actually lived a life. That doesn’t mean I want to let myself go. I still want to look nice and take care of myself. But there’s a huge difference between looking younger and looking good for your age.

Somewhere along the way, society decided “for your age” was an insult. I think it should be a compliment. Looking good for your age means you made it to your age. Not everyone gets that opportunity.

The truth is there has never been a fountain of youth, and there never will be. The choices are pretty simple: die young or live long enough to get old. That’s it. Yet somehow we’ve convinced women that aging is a personal failure instead of a privilege.

And people age differently. Some are blessed with great genetics; some aren’t. Some spent years in the sun; some didn’t. Some wrinkle, sag, or turn gray at 30. Some never do. None of those things make someone better than anyone else.

Maybe it’s time for a new motto. Not anti-aging. Not age-defying. Not forever young. Those are all marketing slogans designed to make us feel bad enough to buy something.

I say the new motto should be: Aged to Perfection. Because perfection isn’t looking 30 when you’re 60. Perfection is reaching an age where you finally stop apologizing for looking exactly the age that you are!