My Maw-Maw Sybil and Paw-Paw Ernest
One of my favorite things to do is the simple act of putting a pen to paper and just writing.
Creative Writing was my favorite subject in school, and I loved the days where we were given a prompt and asked to write freely about the topic. Pfizer is currently running a campaign called “Get Old” where they are encouraging positive conversation about aging.
This is one of the fun things about being a blogger, being asked to contribute to conversations like this. They asked me to write on the topic “How have your ideas about what it means to get old changed since you were a child?”
When I was a little girl, my Maw-maw Sybil was old. She had papery-thin skin that wrinkled around her eyes and into her shock white hair.
She walked with a limp and often times forgot the names of my cousins. “Who is that little brown haired girl playing in my yard?” she’d ask me, peering out the window suspiciously.
Sometimes she’d forget what she was talking about in the middle of a story. “You were telling me about where you lived during the Great Depression,” I’d remind her as she wove a tale of living history while teaching me how to crochet.
When I was a little girl, I just saw old.
Now I hook my yarn to make a tiny hat for a baby lying in a NICU bed, and I see a gift from a generation before me.
When I was a teenager I would wrinkle my nose as promos for romantic films featuring older actresses and actors played during the previews at the theater.
“No one wants to watch a movie about old people falling in love,” I declared.
Now I see an elderly man guiding his shaky wife by the elbow to her table and I see not movie love but real love, stood up to the passage of time love, a love that lasted.
“It’s so beautiful to see old people in love,” I say.
I just celebrated my twenty-ninth birthday. I don’t intend to celebrate it again, adding air quotes around the number as I repeat it each calendar year. No, I will not be forever twenty-nine no matter how hard the glossy covers try to convince me aging is unnatural and youth is the pathway to happiness. Because with each passing year comes wisdom and the shift in consciousness that moves us from just seeing old to appreciating that old. Gettin’ old means living!
This is what I like about the Get Old platform, that it is meant to embrace the advantages of aging. The idea that “getting old is not just about accumulating years – it’s also about gaining experiences and wisdom throughout the journey.”
And this is what I hope to cultivate in Scarlette, the knowledge that growing old gracefully isn’t something that is skin deep.
Share your thoughts on getting old and be entered to win one of three $500 SpaFinder gift cards, courtesy of BlogHer and Pfizer, entries will be pooled across participating blogs.
For your convenience, here are highlights from the Official Rules for the Sweepstakes. Please note by submitting an entry you are agreeing to the full Official Rules, available here.
No duplicate comments.
Please do not mention or imply any pharmaceutical products in your posts. Posts that mention or imply a pharmaceutical product will be subject to removal.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
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*Note: if you want to comment but either (i) are not eligible or (ii) do not want to enter the giveaway, please include something similar to the following statement in your comment: “I do not wish to enter the sweepstakes.”
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Medical professionals who are licensed (or are otherwise authorized) to prescribe medications are not eligible to enter. While BlogHer encourages you to share your thoughts and experiences about getting older, comments discussing medical conditions and/or medical products are not permitted, may be deleted, and are invalid entries. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.
This sweepstakes runs from 6/18 to 8/31.
Be sure to check out the BlogHer.com Get Old page to find out more about the Get Old platform and read how other bloggers feel about aging!
About Kayla Aimee
My granny used to say,” getting old may not always be great, but it sure beats not living to be old,”
I have noticed a few bloggers who have apologized for their age as if they’re crashing the party because they’re in their mid-thirties or forties. I cringe when I see them despising age like that. Another thing that bothers me is the way that people often patronize the elderly, sometimes treating them like children. I love the way you talked with your grandmother with a sense of respect and dignity, even when she was losing her memory. Your post here is really refreshing. The blogosphere and our culture as a whole need this!
This is beautiful Kayla, thank you. I remember reading in a book (PS I Love You, one of the saddest but most hopeful books ever) something along the lines that “we used to think growing old was something to avoid and be feared. How arrogant of us. Growing old is something to strive for and be treasured.” I love the idea of relishing your long life and your old age.
Actually getting older isn’t bad & never thought I’d think that way. I’ve learned to appreciate the smallest of things especially being able to live childhood all over again through my children’s eyes is one awesome gift.
Do not lament growing older, it is a privilege denied to many!
I’ll be honest, I used to be a little scared of growing old… or more specifically, my parents growing older. I was born later in life to my parents than most (17 years after my siblings), and I’d always been a little scared about what that meant later in life. But then I met my husband, who has helped me realize the joy that can be found in age, and that growing old with him means that I will know and be known more if I embrace the years to come, all their wisdom and love and, yes, even their trials. Now I appreciate more seeing my parents’ lives through that lens with how much they are even still learning and growing and giving to the people around them in ways that only time can allow them to do.
I’m hoping I’m getting wiser as I get older… when I was growing up my dad always used to tell me “time goes by faster and faster as you get older.” I remember thinking there’s no way that’s true – when I was a kid it seemed like an eternity until the next birthday or Christmas or school break and now… it’s like time is a giant vortex, whizzing by before I can fully grasp what’s happening. I mean, I’m 28, with a dog, a house, a husband, and a 5-month old daughter, yet college seems like it was just yesterday! I think as you age, you appreciate blessings much more because you realize that not everyone has them
Thank you for a refreshing & practical view on aging! I am only 24, so I have a lot to look forward to, but here are a few: children, grandchildren, retirement, and grey hair! Who said we all have to dye our hair after 40??
I used to fear growing old. Now I fear not growing old. As a 30 year old facing a likely bone marrow transplant I realize more than ever the treasure that old age holds.
As I eventually approach my 30s as well, I hope that aging comes with the benefits of wisdom as well.
Hi! I read and loved your e-book “get published in paper crafting”, and in the introduction it said something about making a book on how to make it into a design team, and I was wondering if you’re still considering writing that (even just a blog post), or if you have decided not to? I would love it if you could give me some tips!
Now that I am 38, the concept of “old” changes for me all the time. I work in an operating room where we see bad things happen to good unsuspecting people all the time. I can’t tell you how often we get the sad look about a sick patient and say ” she’s so young! She is only 56″. It’s all a state of mind, I happier now than I was 10 years ago. My mother has Alzheimer’s and she does not remember anything about our happy family life. It breaks my heart.
I feel younger than I am, so it’s startling at times to realize how old I am.
The main thing I don’t like about getting older is that I seem to have more health problems.! Thanks for a chance to win and have a great day!
kmassmanATgmailDOTcom
Knowing that children I watched as babies are of college age makes me dislike getting older.
I love this. I think a lot of people who despise getting older have not accomplished the things they wanted to.
Its not so bad.. older and wiser… so the saying goes!
Most days I enjoy getting older and seeing new lines and age spots…. Also, the bags under my eyes became permanent at the age of 26 and a half…this means that I even see the more wiser now. Amen.
Getting older is something I think about more often lately. I don’t like the aging of my body, but I feel like I make more right decisions now than ten years ago.
I see it as part of life and I am ready for it.
I’m excited to get older and experience more of life
karinaroselee at gmail dot com
This is my response to the contest:
http://www.emptyhousefullmind.com/how-to-turn-fifty/
I want time to go by more slowly!
It’s so easy for me to look back now on how I was in high school and college and want to shake myself. But learning through mistakes is all part of growing up. I hope I accept that as my children get older and don’t shield them from everything. The bumpy roads make us who we are.
Samanthajocampen at gmail
We get old whether we are ready to or not, so I just do the things I love as much as I can.
i dislike getting older due to the pains and aches
I’m getting older…and sadly I’m one of those people that never remember their ages…LOL, I always seem to think I’m 5-6 years younger and it takes time for me to think of my actual age. Maybe it’s all just denial. Age is just a number. We might as well try to be happy.
whirlwindofsurprises(at)yahoo(dot)ca
Whirlwind of Surprises
I’m not at peace with it quite yet, but I’m getting there.
alittlenosh AT gmail.com
I want to see my kids grow up and get married some day, getting old isn’t all bad
I look forward to retirement and traveling in my “old age”
31 is already too old for me, but with age comes freedom to say whatever you want and get away with it!
I feel uneasy about growing old. However, I hope for the best and realize that I cannot sit around dwelling on growing old.. I look to older people around me who are doing well as a source of inspiration
I feel very uneasy about getting older!
I’m already in the category of “old” at 72, soon to be 73. I enjoy being around younger people. They keep me on my toes. I admit that I worry that at some point I won’t be able to care for myself but that happens to most of us who are able to stay around long enough.
i feel good about it. as long as i am getting old, it means im still living, and to me ::wink: thats a good thing
Thanks for a super giveaway!
My email: anashct1 [at] yahoo [dot] com