Many aspects of being a 55-year-old woman drive me crazy.
Let’s list them shall we:
- Lack of sleep
- Wild dreams – consisting of me wearing a bathrobe to an office meeting, sitting down at the conference table and pulling a beer out of my pocket, opening it and taking a sip before I give my presentation
- Cookie calories eaten seem to have double the effects on the body parts that don’t need extra attention
- Bowel and bladder seem to have a mind of their own and require more coaching to follow expectations
- Hair that once grew on legs appear on faces, mostly the chin, never the eyebrows
- Multi-tasking used to be much easier to execute
- Trailing thoughts seem to come without prior notice
Where was I…?
Oh yeah …
- Clothes fit differently from when I was 20 – at least the clothes I still have in my closet from that time in life. When I try them on instead of donating them, that is – I’m still searching for my white 1980’s leather mini-skirt, I think my daughter took it and donated it? I think I could still fit into it – it would look better than a bathrobe at an office meeting
- The shoes I’ve kept for years don’t even fit, what the heck am I thinking? They’re still in original boxes, perhaps I could return them or resell them on e-bay
- I’m sick of trying to decide what to keep and what to toss, especially the stuff that was my mom’s – many aspects of that time in life still annoys me that I haven’t gotten through all of it
- Book-keeping for tax purposes never seems to get more interesting with each passing year – who the heck cares about a budget line for diapers (on second thought … my tiny bladder syndrome may just need that account in a few years … ???)
- Books that I read before bed seem to have paragraphs that repeat themselves or that don’t look familiar at all in the morning light
Many aspects of being a 55-year-old woman bring me joy.
Let’s list them shall we:
- Credit card companies still solicit to get one of their cards – they’ve moved onto offering the golden color now – so pretty don’t ya agree?
- Desires to impress others are less – have at-it all you youthful spring chicks, enjoy the stress
- I’m still young enough to keep contributing to our nest egg
- It’s not so bad driving 55 instead 70, you get to see more things on the side of the road at that pace and it’s easier to stop
- I’m way more adaptable – even after losing a filling in a molar, I’ve found ways to eat Tostitos – I will be happy to see the dentist on Monday!
- Embracing my authentic gray hair has saved me so much time and money, you can take that advice to the bank
- Waking up looking like Don King doesn’t seem to bother Mr anymore – bifocals, trifocals help as well as a pony-tail holder or maybe some scissors
- In an empty nest, the quiet solitude and the ability to hit the hay early isn’t as bad as I thought it would be, especially when I’ve had a stressful day at work
- An instant pot recipe lasts 3-4 days
- I have no regrets shutting off the noises on social media when a political season approaches – I’ve heard it all before
- It’s kind of fun to sit back and watch the youngin crowd working their way to figuring out that in the end what really matters most isn’t all the rat race things … I’m glad I figured many aspects of life before my 50’s so I could enjoy them instead of dread them
Post inspiration – Linda G. Hill challenged us today with: Your prompt for #JusJoJan and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “the first 3 words of the first full sentence.” Okay, follow me here. This is what I want you to do: 1. Grab the closest book to you when you sit down to write your post. 2. Open it to a random page. 3. Locate the first complete sentence on that page. 4. Use the first three words of that sentence to start your post, then take it from there–write whatever comes to mind. That’s it! Have fun!
PS – Your turn, what book are you reading now? What are your favorite parts of being the age you are right now? Happy Saturday to you! xx
Great SoC post, Shelley. It’s time to be ourselves and not care what others think.
Yes, indeed it is! Cheers to you and your post today. I smiled at the photos too!
Yes to all of it! The clothes, the hair, the memory. It’s all very familiar. I remember wondering for months why I couldn’t find athletic shoes that fit right. At the time, I thought I was 8-1/2. Finally…I tried on a size 9 and guess what? Yup, the sign of old age – feet flattening and growing!
Nice post and I love your dream. I want to do that for real on my last day of work…LOL!
LOL – yes … feet change too! Thanks for sharing – I enjoyed your post too – I agree wholeheartedly! Feel free to carry out the dream in real life, I bet that would bring on some fun comments in the workplace! Happy weekend to you – Go Pack Go (in the snow…!)
Oh Shelley … I just published a poem on my blog about aging … I wrote it yesterday, before I read yours. It’s … different, and nowhere near as charming!
Dear Ellen, thank you for your encouragement. I read your poem and I think it is timeless – I love it! Way more poetic than my rambling this morning 🙂 I encourage others stop by to read your words of wisdom – xx https://slowerlane.home.blog/2020/01/11/with-age/
What a fun prompt and post! What I most worry about, about aging, is brain fog–having a harder time finding the words and meanings I want to express than I already do!
Linda sure comes up with fun prompts. Ah, yes, I’ve got that going on too. Why didn’t I include that!? That is a common thing for women. Our hormones and our multi-tasking as caregivers compounds it. As long as we eventually remember what it was that we were trying to think of, we’re good. Happy Saturday to you – I hope you’ve got plenty of fun planned!
At 64, I can easily relate to all of these. Your bathrobe presentation with the beer made me laugh out loud. Then I had to remember to kegel.
LOL – I’m glad you enjoyed it and that it provoked you to practice your Kegels – we must encourage each other to keep up with those important tasks as we age!! 😉
🙂
You made me smile on where the hair grows, Shelley. Also, too funny on the Cat in the Hat. I also find a pony-tail holder works wonders. A funny and poignant post!
Yay, I’m glad the post gave you a smile for the day! Thanks for stopping by, I always enjoy hearing from you! And, thank you so much for the callout on your blog! You’re so sweet – that’s a lovely post about blogging!! I’m touched to be included in it. xx
Oh my Ms Shelley, I had forgotten many of the perils of the mid-fifties … just wait for the surprises awaiting you when the big 70 sneaks up on you one morning when you are out on the front porch and you discover you’ve forgotten the bathrobe.. g
LOL – I’m glad to hear my perils are ‘normal’ and that I’ve got those eye-opening front porch moments to look forward to! 😉
Mary now has two (2) Instant Pots and can do enough cooking in one day for three weeks.
Nice – I bet Mr. would do the same thing, he loves his Instant Pot.
All of this is so true, I think it’s great you did the gray, I’m don’t have the patience to grow it all out but would love to save the money
Thank you, Alice. Yes, indeed, it took a lot of patience to get through the transition to gray. Once I hit the 9 month mark, I chopped most of the old hair off. That made the rest of the process much easier. It’s an enlightening experience – you won’t regret the finish line if/when you decide to go for it.
Aging is the goal for me!
It’s a grand goal, indeed!
So many silver linings! Most of all, the older we get, the more we just do whatever we want. As long as we physically can of course. I think that’s my favorite part.
Nice summary of what we all experience (much to our shock and amazement) as the decades tick by. The hair thing…absolutely. And when did my body take on a life of its own???
Happy Saturday to you too.
Yes, I love the silver linings too. I missed the chapter in the book on life that told me on the day I hit 55 my body would again go it’s own direction. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Happy Weekend to you too!
I missed that chapter too!! Sounds like censorship to me 😉
LOL – censorship is a great way to put it!
Great post, Shelley. Have you been MIA from the blogosphere or have I just missed your posts? Wish I had been smarter financially but other than that I have no regrets. I appreciate the fact that I don’t have to shave my legs or underarms as much but I wish the hair would still grow on my head! Thanks for the chuckles.
Hi Janet! Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed the post. I do love not having to shave often, and the hair would grow where I want it to too. Thanks for noticing that I’ve been MIA, I’m giving writing less posts a whirl for 2020. Still trying to work out the schedule that works best.
Great post. I agree with all of it, the annoying and the funny! I definitely care less what other people think than I did in my youth. I do wish I could stop lying awake at 3am with my mind spinning, but I find if I read a bit, it focuses my brain and I fall back to sleep. I’m reading Trevor Noah’s memoir, Born a Crime. He’s just as funny and serious as you would expect.
Today we took down the Christmas tree, and we’re both starting to see why “old people”(our age) stop putting up a big tree. We’re not quite there, but I can see the horizon. At least we’ve figured out the dance of the light strings without killing each other. LOL.
Thank you, Laurel. My mind spins in the middle of the night too. That’s so annoying – maybe I’ll try reading. Reading does put me to sleep when I first lay down. Thanks for the book recommendation – I’ve added it to my good reads list.
Glad to hear you got your tree down and are still married! LOL. We took ours down the weekend after Christmas – the needles were falling off each time the wind of the ceiling fan blew across it. Then Dessy started walking under it and started looking like a green porcupine that shed everywhere she went. I’m still finding needles in places. I love the fun of real trees but I can see why my mom went with a small one that was pre-lighted. LOL – she was on to something!
I’m enjoying 55. Far more perks but more than anything is I’m a duck with water rolling off my back. Everything that used to bother me no longer does. What does someone else think? Who the heck cares? Not me. And most importantly if I don’t wanna I’m not gonna. Not sure if it’s age or just finally getting a clue after all these years.
You’ve hit the best highlights of being 55 on the head! Your SoCS was great – did you purposely turn off comments on it? PS – Our house is in mourning too for Neil Peart – so many favorite songs – a great musician 🙁
Hi Shelley! I have no idea how to turn off comments. Definitely by accident. I’ve listening to Rush on a loop since I heard. What a gift he left us.
Hmm… I definitely can’t comment on the post, so that’s weird. Did you get other comments or is it just me that can’t figure it out?! We’ve been listening to Rush too – yes, he definitely left us great gifts.
I’m checking now. My default setting is allow comments. But the post is definitely shut down. No idea why. I’m glad you said something. That way I can see if it happens again. I’m on iPad or iPhone so I likely hit some button without realizing it. Still try to find that replacement desktop. Harder to maneuver on these tiny screens.
You’re welcome – I hope you figure it out. I did that once with my WP site, it was a mystery how it happened. I don’t know how anyone could write posts on a small screen!
🙂
Yes Shelley, just do it bathrobe beer and all. For men it’s Gods Revenge, take the hair from your head and place it in your ears, nostrils and eyebrows!!! Having children is easy they said but you still pay for it years later with the havoc played upon your body.
I did laugh
LOL – I did tell my co-workers that they were lucky I didn’t come dressed as I had dreamt about doing. They laughed – I think the beer may have helped them find more humor in it. Yes, God’s revenge is real when it comes to hair.
I’m glad you laughed! 🙂
You nailed this one, Shelley! Loved reading your observations here (and that Cat in the Hat cartoon is a riot!).
Thank you, Laura! Yes, CITH is a funny one, I think I should print it and frame it to hang in my office. 🙂
🙂 Thank you for this subject!
My biggest question to deal with is not 60 years old in 2020, but the future of my parents who are around 90. Sometimes the organization at work seems easier, thanks to the experience acquired. But I hate computers, even my family is an IT engineering one (except my daughter who is currently collecting zooplankton in Indian Ocean for her master’s internship studies, in marine biology).
I am very lucky, because I know so many younger people, in less favorable situations (because of life, health accidents…).
You’re welcome, I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Happy (Birthday) Anniversary early. My husband turns 60 this year too. We both worry about our parents who are still alive too. Technology can be challenging when it keeps changing before we get a chance to adjust. You’re lucky to have younger folks to help you along. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts!
🙂 I like your blog. Go on with various subjects and beautiful 4 saisons or cats pictures
Thank you, I appreciate your feedback 🙂
Yes, getting older does have a few benefits … I struggle right now to name them though. 🙂
I used to never leave the house without makeup on, my hair as perfect as I could get it and dressed nicely – where did those days go? When I stopped working on site, things were getting cast aside here and there – contact lenses, highlights and layers for my hair (I’ve since resumed that nicety 8 years after abandoning it) and nice clothes and accessories … looking at them makes me sad so I try not to look at them anymore. Sweatsuits or shorts and tees have replaced my clothes. My feet don’t fit in ANY of my old shoes and I was horrified to find that out. That’s due to wide walking shoes and at home in the house I wear moccasins or MukLuks in the Winter – really? My mom said years ago when I waitressed and wore Earth shoes with their negative heel and wide toes: “your feet will spread out – mark my words, you will regret it one day.” Yup, I do and continue to wear comfortable shoes – fool that I am.
I started a new book yesterday, Nicholas Sparks’ “Every Breath” – had to put it down to go to bed and will save Part II for next weekend – looking forward to it.
I, too, have enjoyed the benefits of not wearing make-up daily, my laundry is less, and I adore wearing shoes that are comfortable versus ‘so darn cute my feet hurt’. But that’s just me. When I do go out to meetings, I enjoy dressing up, but when I get home I want to rush to change to something more comfortable. I try to only compare myself to myself now. Your mom was right on the feet spreading as we age. Feet are funny and important and giving them proper support is extremely important. My mom wore heels for so long her toes curled in and she had a terrible time when she got diabetic neuropathy. She was able to keep walking by getting proper supports and wearing athletic shoes.
I haven’t read that NS book – I do enjoy his writing. I hope you enjoy sitting down and reading! 🙂
Yes, I like my comfort in the house and yes, less laundry, less dry cleaning for items that needed it, even less pantyhose which, because I am tall with long legs, cost more sometimes. Yes, there are definite advantages. I am so lazy that I don’t even put earrings in anymore, but put them in for a minute just to keep the earring hole open. I looked at all my shoes – none fit and even boots don’t fit so well either – yikes! I think I’d like to try other NS books down the road – my mom and I read The Notebook years ago and enjoyed it but never saw the movie. I am saving Part II for next weekend.
Do you think we’re actually dressing more like kids now?! Let’s run with that idea – carefree, kids at heart! 🙂 I hope you enjoy your reading time this weekend – especially if it snows and you can’t get out to walk!
Yes, I have on a kooky looking outfit right now – it is a long sweatshirt, very warm and toasty and down past my knees (and I’m tall), I got it for a steal after Christmas, teal colored with a huge penguin holding a candy cane on the front. That is paired with cream-colored stirrup pants and woolen Mukluks that come to my ankles. If I ordered something from Amazon, I used to decide to dress normal in case I had to answer the door – not so much anymore, I like comfort and have lowered my thermostat so now I like to be warm enough as I sit so many hours.
LOL – that’s awesome! You’re considerably taller than I am, so that would be a long dress on me – but warm…I need to get one! Comfort is best when you’re working from home!
Yes, and especially since I’ve lowered the thermostat – it keeps me toasty. On the weekends, I don’t wear it as I’m usually moving around more. I am glad no one stops by – I’ve not seen my boss since the Fall of 2012 … I did used to wear regular clothes in those days. Now I go for comfort only!
Comfy clothes for the win!! Count me in!!
such a fun post – hope you enjoy 55 and loved this especially:
have at-it all you youthful spring chicks, enjoy the stress
Thank you, Yvette!
😊