I have been thinking a lot lately about being a grandma. As a 56 year old, mother of 3 grown children, 2 married, one to be married in April, and grandmother of 1, ( the most adorable baby ever).
Anyway... I have thought a lot about my grandmother ( We only had 1 living grandparent growing up). From my very 1st memory of her she was "old". I have tried to disseminate this...was she really old, or, because I was a child, she seemed old as did everyone over 40? She was old! But not chronologically. She was probably my age when I have memories of her. She was a lovely woman, and great to us, but she seemed so "old"! She wore sensible shoes, kind of boot like things with chunky heals. She wore sensible dresses, aprons and wore her hair in a curly, "grandma" perm, naturally gray. She wore no makeup that I can recall. She did nothing to make herself look attractive. She was a widow with children and grandchildren and her life was all about them. I get that part, I love my kids, and am crazy about my granddaughter. But that is about all that my grandma and I have in common. I am convinced that because we are among the largest cohorts according to age...the Boomers, we are able to create our own vision of life as we age. This is what a 56 year old grandmother looks like today...
We wear makeup, we color our hair, we worry about our weight, health and diet. We drink wine because we like it, and also because a glass or 2 each day is supposed to be healthy. We enjoy time with our spouses, we go to movies, concerts, plays, we travel, we go to the gym. We try to live longer. We try to live well. We have a life! I find the whole "Boomer" thing empowering. Because there are so many of us, WE RULE! We can decide what we do, how we age. We are not our grandparents!
I saw Pat Benetar recently on TV. She looks great. She's 60, still looks great. She sang "We are young, we are invincible..." It rang true...not so much the "invincible " part, because so many of us take pills for cholesterol, high blood pressure, etc, etc, etc... But the we are young part...It's so much a state of mind. WE ARE YOUNG! At least young at heart. We feel good about our lives, our families, ourselves.
I have a good friend at work who just turned 60. She is so cute. Wears her hair in a short blond spiked do. She wears cute, colorful, trendy clothes. She is awesome. When I was little, 60 year old women did not look like her. They looked like my grandma.
I'm glad the rules have changed, I'm glad we get to change the rules! Maybe there are no rules. That's the best part of all. We get to make it up as we go along.
My husband is studying for a degree in gerontology. He likes to use me as an example. We are the study group, we baby boomers. Sometimes it's fun, other times it is annoying. I am analyzed.. .I have decided to go back to school. Boomers like to learn I am told, we like to expand our horizons... we are not content to rest on our laurels, whatever they may be. We are looking toward the future because we believe the future is good and holds promise.
I loved my grandma. But I am glad I was born 2 generations after her. We are not tied to the same old age mind set.
That's a good thing!
