Saturday, April 24, 2010

Then and Now

I've noticed that many of my forty-something friends don't like it when I lumped them into "middle age." They are in their final years where they can claim being on the older side of young, and are not yet ready to face (claim?) what's ahead. Here's why:







And one for the guys:

Now each of these celebrities looks great, then and now. But those of us who are their age just have the hardest time admitting we are that old, too. Even though we are glad to be alive. Even though we look good, too. It's a thing. In our heads we think we look how we did then. Celeb photos like these shock us into reality. If you are there, you get it. If not, wait a few years and you'll understand.

And let's keep it real. My own then and now:

Age 24

Age 54

And last fall for a drag show I channeled what's coming in a couple of decades:

(All of these examples show the wrinkly-prone aging of white folks, thanks to our lack of melanin. The comparison of aging across skin color -- now that's another post for another day.)

Related posts:

I feel bad about my neck, too
P!nk is my inner doppleganger
Dory is my new hero but I can't remember why
Why did Dove's Pro Age campaign fail?
I wanna be like Nikki Giovanni when I'm 65
I forget to remember I had breast cancer
"It's Complicated" -- A plausible romantic comedy for aging baby boomers

2 comments:

  1. Good example of how life should be celebrated in all of it's stages. We ALL get old, and we might as well enjoy the transition. I'm certainly glad to be alive as a 44 year old, and I am glad to see the changes. Very interesting!

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  2. You are most definitely NOT one of my 40-something friends who wants to deny their age and is glad to be their age. I love you for it!

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