Seems to me as I am fast approaching the grand old age of official seniorhood, somebody has moved the bar. When I was growing up all adults seemed much older relative to their current ages... at least as I recall. Most people went noticeably grey and acted and dressed differently than those who were younger ... more reserved and mature I suppose. I recall my mother's friends discussing clothing while looking at the Sears and Eatons catalogs and feeling their choices were limited by their ages... a notion that has gone by the wayside for many now.
Mind you my even earlier memories include my Grandmother's hats and the many choices she had for church wear. Hats may be back in style but it takes a certain amount of flair to feel comfortable drawing so much attention to oneself. So I am delving into my long-term memories as well as more recent years... One gains a broader perspective as all those years get lived. What a different world we have now. I also remember thinking what a life for my Grandma who lived to be almost 100. All the changes she saw in those years... and change has supposedly increased at an exponential rate in the last 10 years.
Women that I know do not let others control their style preferences anymore, quite to that degree, if at all. For sure we are heavily influenced still by our cultures and our medias defining what is the norm... but even that has loosened up in many areas when it comes to stages of aging. Even though women essentially can look younger perhaps then they actually are with hair dye and cosmetic procedures, there are many of us who get to a point where we choose to leave all that behind us. Dying one's hair is expensive and it may add a toxic load of chemicals one really doesn't want.
Some of us are content to grow older gracefully, knowing that every visible grey hair and wrinkle we have, represents a life well lived. I like having the choice of course and don't mind when others choose to keep color in their hair... I just try to be my authentic self. Perhaps just being myself is the blessing for crones like me.
