64 and still kicking
It seems only yesterday that our generation would sing parrot-like that Beatles’ hit When I’m 64 and never waste a thought on what life would be like then.
The notion that we would ever “get older losing my hair’’ as the four Liverpool lads belted out, applied only to old men.
Yet,this is the year the baby boomers, born in 1946 reach that very age of 64. And 
surprisingly, life is rolling right along happily in a state that cannot be denied anymore – as older men and women.
The horror is that the woman who stares at me from the mirror these days looks remarkably like my dear late mother.
This shocking revelation could grow even more distressing if, deep down, I didn’t still regard myself as a perpetual 30-something. I still feel like Aphrodite inside. But one must keep that Greek Goddess of beauty in our mind’s eye because just the other day I saw a very middle-aged Princess Anne and she is about to turn 60 – and younger than me! That’s a fact one cannot escape because I remember dancing in my bobby socks to welcome her mother, the Queen, on the Adelaide Oval.
So, we are no longer young, or even middle aged, because despite latest social research which reflects how people’s attitudes to the term “middle aged’’ is changing by pushing it further back from 40,to 50, then to 60, we need to accept that 60-something is not 50-something. The big 6-0 birthday is a reality check. There is a big divide and iconic Maggie Tabberer was the first to alert me to this fact at a time when I hadn’t even hit 50. “It is a passage of time which changes you,’’ she had said.
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