ON YOUR MARK. GET SET. GO!



49.  Not a particularly magical or even meaningful number, but that’s my age.  I’ve been 49 now for 15 days.  Granted 15 days is not a lot of time, but I’m one of those people who felt 49 when I was eight.  It’s been a long time coming.  I’d like to think that at this stage in my life, I have it all figured out.  For the most part I actually do.  I’ve been happily married for 14 years (together for 26), I own a home, I have a stable career, lots of friends, many of whom I’ve known for decades.  I have even recently joined Facebook.  Overall, I’m a fairly happy person.  Yet there are still insecurities, doubts, fears, anxiety, and unanswered questions that run through my mind daily.  When I was younger, I was certain that by this age, I would have conquered these demons.  And yet often times, life is way more scarier now than in my 20s and 30s.  And I’ve been through some pretty scary stuff.  So what’s up with that?  I thought life would become easier.  That I’d be wise with years, ready to roar with hard earned self-confidence and stronger than ever before.  Some days I am that Amazon, and then there are the other days...not so much.

So why start a blog now?  As a person who is somewhat new to the internet and social media, I find it to be a peculiar environment.  An environment straddled with the good, the bad and the worst.  An environment geared towards the young, pretty and entitled.  Basically, the same rhetoric just on a different platform.  Commercialism, sexism, ageism, are alive and well and still flourishing.  And sex still sells.  Really?  So where does that leave us?  Women and men of a certain age who still have a lot to say, offer and contribute.  I guess it has left us here. In our own hands.  In each other’s hands.  And then there is me, a woman who has grown tired of the youth obsessed culture, a woman who can’t keep up, a woman who doesn’t want to keep up.  I want to forge a new path that steers away from the conformity of social culture and entertains open minds, kind words (even if you disagree),  intellect and misbehavior.  A path that begins here with this first step.

I am not here to be disingenuous or deceive you into thinking I have the perfect life, that I’m a perfect size 6 or that I’ve never indulged in Botox because I don’t, I’m not and I most definitely have (and still do).  I am here to be honest, transparent and to share the good, the bad and the real (I prefer never to use the word “ugly”).  This is me, this is you, this is us.  I want to decipher through this aging process together; creating a healthy authentic environment for us to feel good about ourselves, our world and our collective.  Let's go forward, backward, fast, slow, left, right and up, down.  It's #lifestylesofagingbeauties.

Today, my 60-year old very stylish and very beautiful friend, Fern, wore a sweater that declared “Too Fabulous for your Negativity.”  I think that sentiment sets the tone for this blog perfectly.  No, 49 is not a bad number and neither is 50, 60, 70, or 80 so let’s begin celebrating each passing year and appreciate and cherish the journey -  wherever we may end up.  Because it's about the journey, right?  Not the destination.  Indeed, taking that first step is the key to opening a door that may just lead me to what I have been searching for. To what I’ve been craving for.  And, perhaps, to what I've been afraid of.  And it only took me 49 years to figure this out. C’est La Vie!  Well, so there you have it.  My intent and all its guts and glory.  So, I’m jumping right in with eyes wide open, ears intent, strength in my heart and a smile on my face because that’s all I have... and, really, that’s all I need.  Oh, except for the ever-so-important Gin Martini with a slice in hand...

Without further ado:  on your mark, get set, go!