Growing Old Gracefully

I always swore I would go old gracefully, and not bother with all the hair colouring etc etc, as at some point, you have to then grow old suddenly, or look slightly odd.

it is, of course, crunch time.

well, actually crunch time prob really was a few years ago! But my hair is now most definitely grey looking. The white streaks are now prominent enough for the over all impression from the front def to be grey, but its not uniform, and prob about 5% white?

It has become more noticeable on photos, and also today i plaited my hair in about 8 plaits after laboriously combing out the camping tangles. I haven’t plaited it since sitting the last lot of exams in 2000 – where there were hardly any white hairs! [plaiting hair a good finger distraction activity whilst revising i think!]. So, aarrgh!

I don’t feel at all older though, i’m not sure where all the time has whizzed by, but here, alongside the 40 next year milestone, is the evidence that time is marching on. All sorts of other options change. I’m not averse to change, and don’t fear the aging, just wish for another 10 years before it became noticeable! There’s the child thing. The longer i don’t consider further treatment, the less likely it is, so i guess indecision here is probably a decision. I am not, after all, racing to alter it. There is the pension thing – and in this credit crunch world, is that as sorted as i thought? after all, the equity in this house was supposed to keep us going for a bit [yep, i do have a works pension, obviously - i am anally retentive after all - but chris hasn't that much work to pension]. And i really must make the most of the next 10 years, as they will fly by too.

so, rather odd time of year for resolutions but

1. I MUST LOOSE WEIGHT/ BODY MASS

2. I REALLY SHOULD FIND SOME TIME TO EXERCISE

3. I might henna my hair, but apart from that, i think i will take greyness!

4. In planning for the future, credit crunch or not, life is lived in the here and now, so i MUST NOT STRESS!

18 responses to “Growing Old Gracefully

  1. I sporadically ponder parting my hair on the other side, because there don’t seem to be any white hairs there and I might lose a few years, whereas my current parting displays several, lol. But I think changing my parting after 20something years would be more traumatic!

  2. Why not grow old disgracefully. I intend to model myself on Father Jack. You have probably noticed.

    From a male perspective, it is better to have grey hair. :-)

  3. i think that kind of growing old disgracefully is easier done by a man, or a thin beautiful woman!
    once i reach an age that is appropriate, i intend to pretend i am batty, so the reality doesn’t shock anyone

  4. I’m going for henna, but that’s because I like the henna look tbh. And the smell, given it’s Lush henna :)

    Tim and I were discussing age the other day, I think I’m about 22 – I don’t really feel like I’ve changed since then. I am continually surprised to discover that I look different and that ppl react to me differently.

  5. Ah, well I changed my parting a few months ago to the less grey side, but now it’s caught up with me and the grey is quite noticeable. Ah well. I know I will never bother keeping up with hair colouring, so there’s no point even starting that one.

  6. Yeah, I’m quite looking forward to being a dotty old bat walking the dogs and only wearing wellies and anoraks. It’s the bit between here and then that might be a problem ;-)

  7. I’m rapidly getting into the getting old disgracefully bit, being 10 years ahead of you. I had 46 in my mind for “have to accept my child-status”, and to be honest, wish I had now set it earlier, as I felt a lot better once I’d reached it. I don’t really have much in the way of grey hair at all, but I HAVE been seriously considering a breast reduction.

  8. I can’t bear roots showing through, so have always vowed never to start colouring my hair, I’d never be able to keep up with it. And I’d hate to spend any money on it! As for pretending to be batty, I suspect it won’t be difficult for me!

    Not at all a strange time for taking stock though Helen, we came back from hols both resolving to exercise more, etc. Haven’t done anything about it yet though!

  9. I don’t plan to colour my hair as I know I couldn’t be bothered to spend either time or money on it.
    As for pensions… D won’t get a penny except from the state (if they still pay out…) and I’m in a work pension scheme which promises me something giddy like five thou a year if I retire at sixty-five. I’m planning to just keep working part-time until I die – as long as I’m capable.
    I’m always meaning to get more exercise. Did an hour walk today but very sedate!
    Batty old lady sounds great. I certainly fancy that.

  10. oh Allie, you have done badly from the autogravatar thing!
    joyce, that is also on my list…
    yeah, i don’t think colouring is me. i did henna as a young thing, so can cope with that, as it fades and washes out.

  11. I have no intention of colouring my hair either, although I believe my colouring hides any grey well and it’s more likely to go faded and white anyway. I can’t wait to be old enough to be eccentric properly, I have HUGE plans for it :lol:

  12. Am thinking that if you can manage 4 then 2 and then 1 would automatically follow. No choc biscuits on walks then?

  13. how strange that hair colouring should come up this week when a friend of mine has coloured hers – and it looks fab – and I was thinking about maybe Henna-ing mine again. Used to do it all the time in my early 20′s – so much so that I stayed redish for about a year after I stopped using it! I really liked it and it’s only really time and money that stopped me. I have no grey yet thankfully (my Mum didn’t go grey until into her 50′s), so I don’t need to colour it, but I might anyway – if I start again now no-one will know that I am colouring for another reason when I really might need to! But I do agree with growing old gracefully too :)

    I really don’t want to go batty – for my kids sake!

    I soooo need to lose weight, but can’t seem to muster the motivation – other than every time I look in the mirror turning away rapidly :(

    As for pensions… don’t mention it! The NHS gave me mine back because I didn’t work for long enough to hold it. P has never put into one as he’s never earned enough to keep us afloat and pay out for it. So we don’t have one – full stop! I guess we’ll just freeze/starve in our old age!

  14. gosh can you imagine the meet ups when we’re all older. Instead of the tutting from others for all the mad, er I mean lovely, children charging about. It will be all of us mad, eccentric old ladies making a nuisance of ourselves ;)

  15. ROFL! I’m looking forward to it :)

    When we were in Canada my dad hurt his knee shortly before he was leaving (he & L left first, then us, and my mum stayed a bit longer), and so my mum and my aunt walked up to the drugstore on New Year’s Day and bought him a couple of walking sticks to help him get home. They then had great fun walking home, leaning heavily on the sticks, limping, waving them at dogs, etc and were in fits of giggles when they arrived back! Much easier to get away with that sort of stuff at their age ;-)

  16. I keep thinking about henna too. I certainly don’t fancy high maintenance colour that then hits you with a big shock when you notice the roots or decide to stop and find out what colour your hair really is :lol:

    If you ever want company for 2, give me a shout. The friend I used to go to occasional classes with isn’t doing them any more and I’m finding it very hard to keep motivated entirely by myself (to the extent that I went from 2 or 3 classes a week when we first joined the leisure centre and I felt I had to justify membership to errrrm well, I think my last class was over a month ago…) – I’d be up for almost anything on the leisure centre timetable (and can also do nearby linked leisure centres) ;)

  17. I shall expect lots of purple at the next meet up then?

  18. We’re not that old yet, you cheeky young man!

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