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Aging Gracefully (well, trying)
By Christine Roesch
I recall a brief moment in time when I was 23, having tea with my Pan Am crew at an elegant little tearoom in Rome. The muted conversation and quiet clicking of teacups suddenly stopped as all eyes turned to the door where a woman had just entered.
As she went by, she nodded graciously in our direction. Outwardly, she must have been in her 80s, dressed in simple black, her gray hair pulled back in a classic chignon. But, there was something about her—a radiance, a dignity—that turned heads. We instinctively knew we were in the presence of Someone. I watched her sit down with her friends and thought to myself, “Wow, I want to be like her when I’m old.”
I’m not 80 yet, but it won’t be long when I’ll be thinking 60 is pretty young. I thought 50 was old 10 years ago; now, hah! to be 50 again!
Aging gracefully takes work particularly when I don’t feel aged. As I enter into my 6th decade, I keep the image of the woman in the Rome tearoom in mind to inspire me. I can only hope that along the way, I will master the grace and presence that she imprinted on me so long ago. I’ll give myself 30 more years to work on it; it’s a worthy aspiration.
On the other hand—I’m more likely to follow these wise words circulating on the internet: Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and shouting “WooHoo, what a ride!”
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