I always wondered what it meant when people referred to “growing old gracefully”.
I used to try and puzzle the saying out, thinking to myself that there was no way anyone could grow old gracefully.
To me, growing old meant having to do something boring like crocheting or knitting, having to stay at home every night (probably sitting in a rocking chair while crocheting or knitting), having all sorts of aches and pains every day, and worst of all, going grey and getting wrinkles that no amount of special creams could remove. How, I used to ask myself, could anyone grow old gracefully when facing such occurrences?
Little did I realise that I would find out soon enough. I was in my 30’s when I started going grey and the laughter lines turned into wrinkles. That was okay because I could colour my hair and use expensive cream to hide the lines.
When I hit 40, things were still good, and then somewhere between 40 and 43, the aches and pains started. I stopped wanting to go out every night or even just now and then on a weekend. So far, I have drawn the line at taking up crocheting or knitting though.
This year, I have realised that getting old is not so bad. I no longer colour my hair. I have more money for myself now that I don’t go out that often. And then there are the perks of getting old.
People often let you go before them when standing in a queue or walking through a door. People don’t argue with you when you make a decision. People actually listen when you say something.
If this is old age, I say bring it on! I’m ready to grow old gracefully.
