64 and still kicking
For women, it is menopause and men experience something similar. Sure, I haven’t lost any hair, but I use a potion to hide a growing number of grey ones.
An uplifting thought is that we are in great company in this ageing process – Sandra Dee, Jacqueline Bisset and Helen Mirren are all peers. No one would dare call them old, would they? And hey, Harrison Ford is 66 and still the greatest adventurer on the screen. And sexy, too. And by the way, he and his partner Calista Flockhart are the wealthiest couple in Hollywood! Which is why I reckon a big slice of mental health at 60-something is to still feel sensual, to still enjoy sex if not the 30-something sex-pots we once were. Sensuality is a skill that older French women have turned into an art form. Style is their calling card. We need to learn more about how to do this and give the thumbs up to our society’s ageist attitudes…to the whole horrible tendency to consider older women as faceless. I read recently the sad fact that only one in three women over 60 still have a sex life. Hey, what happened to the Woodstock generation? We are still the Flower Power people in our hearts. The “stud’’ and the ”sex kitten’’ personas which we once wore with pride, no longer fit, but sensuality is an acquired skill. Now a delicious joie de vive must be our very essence if we are to age well.
Tags: ageing
age & aphrodite | nadine 10/05/2010
7 Comments to “64 and still kicking”
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By Janeece, 17/05/2010 @ 2:43 pm
As I read through your thoughts etc I wondered what I would do in my retirement that would be equally exciting. As I am planning this event over the next couple of years I need to start thinking about what is next for me. Is there a lot of planning involved prior to retirement I wonder.
By nadine, 18/05/2010 @ 5:26 pm
Watch this space Janeece. Finding new interests is a big part of it. As I wrote in My Journal the gym has become a lifestyle choice and I;m enjoying cooking. In fact life is so full I haven’t had time to finish even one book – my big goal when I retired.
By Chris Nicholls, 18/05/2010 @ 9:51 am
Nadine last time I was in NZ I climbed a very high hill, a 2 hour climb. Following not far behind was an elderly gentleman. As we sat at the top taking in the most glorious view, he hold me he was 86 and climbed this hill every day. He was a great believer in the old adage: if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it. That is why I walk, do pilates and body sculpt and hopefully can have the fitness at 86 that he has.
Congratulations you gorgeous girl on your website. Wish I could have been there for your launch.
By Johnno, 18/05/2010 @ 3:02 pm
Nadine – I’ve got three adult children who have given me hell throughout their teenagers and refuse to leave home. I am 51 and feel 64 already…
By nadine, 20/05/2010 @ 10:16 pm
Dear Johnno, Are your parents still alive? If so, then you are a fully paid up member of the Sandwich Generation. Suddenly the adult child responsible for the rapidly ageing old folk and still the parent responsible for the offspring under roof. Remember what Malcolm Fraser once said “Life wasn’t meant to be easy.”
If it’s any consolation, by the time you turn 60, at least the adult children would have flown the nest.
Be happy! The 50s only come around once and they only last 10 years. Nadine
By pamela, 25/05/2010 @ 1:31 pm
I am amazed at how we baby boomers keep on keeping on. Here I am semi retired and working harder than ever. I do note that we are not selfish as has been implied by other writers and it is refreshing to note that Nadine is sharing her views with a world hungry to know that maturing is indeed magnificent and to be treasured.
By Serena, 18/05/2010 @ 11:29 pm
Dear Mum,
Congratulations on your brilliant website. I am so proud of you, although of course I always have been.
I have been looking for yummy recipes like you are hopefully going to be cooking for me when I come over in early June ;o) Will keep looking for them, maybe we can put some up together when I’m with you,
love you and will keep reading avidly,
love
your daughter
Serena xxxx