The following was written by my sister Carole and says so well the pitfalls of becoming an "old lady".
"Ode to my friends who are turning 70!!! I am in my 69th year. I and my friends who graduated from high school with me are turning 70. We consider ourselves the same young hip girls we were of the fifties..that is until I see a young hip girl of the 2008ths. (How do you stay that cute?).
I then realize I am not a young hip girl even though I did have eyelid surgery. The tops of my eyes look great but the bags and wrinkles underneath still give me away. Barbara Walters still looks young and hip. What does she know that I don’t…does money still do everything!!! Can TV hide the inevitable?
Clothes shopping is a nightmare. The clothes in the non-maternity section look like they should be in the maternity section and the maternity section looks very comfortable to me. What do I do? I wear my same old jeans with the slight stretch and the same old sweat shirt that feels so good.
Summer is coming. I get hot. Do I reveal the sagging arms with short sleeves…don’t even think about sleeveless! Or do I constrain myself to wear the timeless shirtwaist blouse that certainly defines my age. I never did look good in that style ,the puffy short sleeve always fitted my figure best but I don’t want to look like I am trying to be 16 again.
Hair…do I continue to dye or let the natural grey do the lighting for me? The girls on TV look great in their long shiny straight hair..mine just wants to frizz and I can’t seem to get out of the helmet look without lots of time in the bathroom. I no longer have 4 kinds of shampoo to choose from, I have 40. Do I want it thicker, shinier, straighter, curlier, streakier, moisturized, dryed out or just plain clean? Do I want it sticking out, messed up, sleeked down or shaved off? Do I need to glue it, spray it, wax it, sculpt it, or heaven forbid, perm it?
Shoes..I will be on my feet all day, thank goodness for Easy Spirit..but high heels, not for over two hours. I will not wear “grandma shoes” with the slight wedge and tie. I believe my dad, who sold shoes, called them oxfords…never! The ballerinas I so loved as a teen, just don’t quite do it anymore either. I did find some cute sandels, but oh, the price. We have 9 months of winter, not practical--oh,what the heck , I’ll wear thick socks.
Yes, I will fight old age. I will exfoliate, moisturize and serumize. I will eat right, walk and get my yearly exam..I will not have any more mammagrams, I had one. I will have my colonoscopy and keep my teeth in order. I have final expense insurance but I am dropping that and donating my body to science..being the practical person I am and wanting that body to keep on being of some use since I have nourished it so well, burying it just doesn’t seem right.
Very sincerely,
Carole Fuqua, a girl of the fifties, a grandma of the nineties but I just can’t say what I am of the 2008ths, someone else will have to call me an 'old lady'."