Growing Older and Liking it

Yesterday, Emery took me out for lunch to our favorite Chinese restaurant. We needed a break from the hard work we had been doing, so a leisurely lunch sounded perfect for us. There were some people going in the restaurant before us, a young couple, probably around 30 with what I am assuming to be his grandmother. They were not American born folks and I will explain why I even mention this fact as I go along. The young couple held hands with the grandmother, beamed with pride to anyone looking their way. Held the door for her as if she was the queen. It was 100% sincere respect and more than that, love and a word we hardly use any more, honor. The grandmother was tiny, full of wrinkles, had hair pulled back tightly, wore clothes that were neat and tidy but a bit ethnic and certainly not chic by modern standards. You had the idea she had worn much the same style most of her life. The young couple proudly walked with this elder as if they had the most prized possession on earth with them. Tears filled my eyes for the sheer beauty of this love and respect. I had seen a similar thing one time at Wal-Mart when I was waiting in line to get fabric cut. A group of young people, maybe early 20's, about 6 of them, with a tiny old lady, maybe their great grandmother. Same nationality as the couple I saw yesterday. The elder woman was needing some white fabric and the young people stood near her, helping, holding even the thread she needed. She was their queen. They softly asked if this was what she wanted or that. She spoke back to them kindly and her eyes were filled with pride for these young ones attending to her every need. She too was wrinkled and dressed old fashioned. No face life for her and probably no fancy night creams. No hair dye either. Her gray hair was her crown. She didn't run from aging, she wore it as a mantle of pride and for that she was respected. Both women walked with head held high. You could tell they had worked hard in life, but were respectable for many reasons and one was their age.
I thought about these two woman much of the day yesterday. We don't see much of that kind of reverence for elders in our culture. But maybe that's because most folks keep running from aging. We keep turning from it, trying to avoid it, feel ashamed of it, try to erase it. How would our young people ever know to respect it, since we ourselves don't.
I think we all have a duty to be our best physically. Stay healthy and in good shape, but not so sure about this demand for the fountain of youth. I think we should dress with care and look our best, but to fight something that is part of life, well that is sorta sad.
Men don't seem so caught up in this battle to retain a youthful look. At least not to the same extent. We talk as woman about equal rights with men etc, but we sure have not come to the same place as they are when it comes to aging and looking our age.
Yeah I know about the men who get face lifts etc but by far they are not the majority. We as woman accept men for the changes that take place as they age. We vote in presidents that have gray hair and wrinkles. But if a woman runs, she would have to look like a magazine cover. Seems like some sort of double standard to me. We as woman are not accepting our body changes with age as men do. It is not equal and we are reinforcing this way. The ads for staying young are not geared to men. Why ? They wouldn't buy into such madness.
I say, rebel ! Accept and respect your changes. Cause if we don't accept and respect ourselves, then no one else will and we will pass on this mad race to fight nature on to our daughters, our grand-daughters.
I loved seeing this couple yesterday with their grandmother. She was honored for what she was, a woman who had done much, seen much and lived much. She was loved for just what she was, an elder who was wise beyond those who held her hand. She was respected for holding her head up high, even with her wrinkles and age clearing showing on her face and hands.
We as Americans could learn something from this....we could learn to like aging and respect ourselves enough to not want to run from the appearance of growing older.
Just imagine, if nothing else, waking up in the morning, looking in the mirror, washing your face and loving it. Imagine not having to put on anti-aging stuff, dying your hair, spending countless dollars on trying to be younger looking than reality. Try to imagine, the freedom of being like a man in America, who does so little to fight age showing on his face and then maybe you can imagine true equality in that aspect of life. I am not much of a woman's libber, but on this subject I think we could do well with our own attitudes changing.

Couldn't seem to get a picture to load, so this post is sans photo