I still haven't heard about the job I applied for recently. I'm starting to think that I won't even get an interview. It's finally official, I'm old! Fifty is the new forty we're told and I absolutely agree but if you're competing for a receptionist's job with a bunch of twenty and thirty year olds then fifty is old.
Ageing is something I've thought about a lot in my life and even more lately. At fifty, my mother looked really old. She had given birth to five children, suffered two miscarriages and, added to that, she hated my father. How did I know this? Well she told me every day that if she was given her life over again she would never marry. Oh - and she also use to scream at my father "die you bugger, die!"
One of the quotes on ageing that I've always found comforting comes from the book of Meditations by Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (AD 121 - 180). Let's not forget that he wrote his meditations during respite from warfare with the northern european barbarians so it's highly likely he was delirious or depressed. In book 3 he writes "the very imminence of decay adds its peculiar beauty to fruit". Is ageing peculiarly beautiful? He goes on to qualify this statement by saying that not all may think so. "...the mature charm that belongs to men and women in old age......will not appeal to everyone; he alone who has cultivated a real intimacy with nature and her works will be struck by them...." Most ageing women today would feel that they are viewed more as decomposing wrinkly fruit rather than as peculiarly beautiful.
I have to confess that I'm really torn because I like to colour my hair and probably will do for a while yet. Also, I would like to see fewer wrinkles on my face (and body). Nevertheless I am drawn to the fact that my gently lined face is the ultimate reminder to constantly revisit my to do list before it's too late. Cosmetic surgery doesn't turn the clock back it just gives us a false sense of our mortality.
I think the last word on ageing belongs to Chrissy Hynde, the lead singer with the Prentenders in the eighties. When asked what she thought of cosmetic surgery Chrissy replied " why have a thirty year old face when you have a fifty year old arse".....
I've just read through your Blogs and I hope, by now, you've had some luck with the job hunting.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard not to be intimidated by all the 'young things' who line up as competition. But, who knows, maybe you'll find an avenue to make an income through your love of writing?
Hi Lyn, I think the job hunting may be a slow process but I am optimistic the right one will come along....it might just take longer than it has in the past.
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