50 is not 30
At lunch yesterday, someone asked me what do I do when someone contacts me and wants to meet? The answer is that I try to get together with them. What I have found is the majority of people I have met are about one degree of separation from other people we both know.
Yesterday I met with Tracey Jackson. A commenter of this blog who happens to know both Amanda Hesser and Debbie Stier. (I took the Wonder Woman picture off Debbie's Tumblog) We got together for coffee and had a variety of conversations but the one that stuck with me the most is about the book she wrote. Not out yet but in essence it is about Traceys comedic slant when she says 50 is not the new 30. I totally agree. This conversation is a part of the off-ramp and on-ramp conversation that I continue to write about on my blog just slightly funnier.
I spend a lot of time with 30 year olds. I love their energy and drive. They are just starting to really delve into their careers or are beginning to have families or perhaps just getting married. Not only do 30 year olds not feel the aches and pains I feel every day, they aren't thinking about exactly what we (particularly women) are going to do for the next 20 years after the kids are gone. Certainly not sit around and eat bon bons all day. How do you get back into the work world and not work 9-5 but have a community to be with, still have flexibility and be applauded for what you are capable of doing. It is kind of like being an actress. There aren't many roles for 50 year old actresses but they are many for 30 year olds.
50 year olds certainly have more drive, energy and a longer runway than they did many years ago. But are we 30…no. Do we want to be 30? Personally, I wouldn't mind have less gray hair and wrinkles but I am happy to embrace exactly where I am, right now. The saying that youth is wasted on the young might be true but I say growing older gracefully is pretty damn good.
Comments (Archived):
I clicked over to your blog and saw the Wonder Woman and thought — Oh, Wonder Woman Zeitgeist — and then I saw that you saw it on mine!I love Tracey…..And Amanda too, for that matter. And in fact, I just read Tracey’s post about Amanda coming for dinner (which make me want to read Amanda’s book and her husband’s too). I have Tracey’s manuscript sitting on my kitchen counter and have been about to read for weeks but it’s buried beneath a bunch of gunk. God, the stuff piles up SO FAST. But thank you for reminding me that it needs to be dug out and moved to the top of the heap.I don’t think I want to be 30 again either (30 was toddlers for me and I can’t do that again — except for maybe as a Grandma)…..but it sure would be nice to stick at about 39.And on a completely unrelated note: do you know that you can’t comment on Disqus from the iPad? I read your blog every day on the Pulse App and I always want to chime in on this or that — but Disqus doesn’t work. (Or at least I can’t seem to make it work). They need to fix that!
The toddler thing is over for me too!
this soon to be 30 yo with a soon to be toddler just loves your blog! ut oh, at almost 30 i am still tired about the thought of toddlers!
Believe me, I am thrilled that although I maybe almost 50…my readers areof all ages. In that regards…age is irrelevant.
My youngest one is outta diapers THIS WEEKEND if I have my way. And I’m not lookin’ back. I am so over it.Love my kids….and can’t wait to drop ’em off at school first thing Tuesday morning. I’ve got work to do!
Did you know that 60 is the new 50? And 70…well, I’m not quite there, yet. 68 this month and feeling great. So lucky. Gotta go work out. Keep telling it like it is Joanne.
Thanks Cecilia. Keep working out!!
Celia well I keep getting your fabulous art promos by email and I smile every time. Always beautiful pieces. Who had more energy than you? You work it, Girl!
Yeah, the only way that “30 is the new 50” makes sense if if we’re saying that people used to die routinely at 60 (which is in many ways an exaggeration).The meme suggests that 50-year-olds are at some sort of half-way mark. Of course the BIG question is, half-way mark of what?What’s the mark? It can’t be the same mark that means something to 30-year-olds (biologically nubile, with toddlers, and with far fewer experiences than people who have more age experience).I suspect it’s an answer with many many nuances. Not a one-size-fits-all kinda thing, that’s for sure!
Definitely not a one-size-fits all!
I just turned 40 this summer and while I was nervous about it, the minute it happened I was loving it. It felt like a “say whatever the hell you want and who cares what people think” kind of liberation moment. And as a result I’m having more fun than ever.Not to mention my 30’s kinda sucked. In some ways so did my 20’s. Teens….fuhgetabout it. Awkward!!So let’s be like fine wine, and relish that we get better and better. There’s so much to look forward to at 50, 60 and well beyond.
And well beyond…
Congratulations on your 8 year blogging anniversary. I’m coming upon my 2 year anniversary AND 30th birthday 🙂 Your post struck a chord with me…30 finds me at this place in my career and life where it feels like something really great is on the horizon. I could either pick the easy path to a too-early plateau or work on pulling all of the strings correctly to capture the nervous energy and drive rocketing around in my head. It’s a really exciting and yet daunting time…but I suppose that’s 30. Or nowadays, just life 🙂
Your 30’s are definitely a time where your career climbs. Not for everyone, obv because it can happen at any time of ones life but I found my 30’s to be the time when we laid a foundation for future years.
Eight years…wow. I will leave to you to package up a “best of” for those of us new to your blog. I am new to your blog, and blogging. It is my one month anniversary for my first comment, still more than a week from celebrating my first month posting. I am getting a lot of advice about “how I need to show up on my blog” to evoke this or that. For me, it is important to me to be authentic.Your blog is that, plus really interesting. At first glance it is about travel, art and food. But when you really read it, the messages are really thought provoking, and meaningful. I like to read your stuff on the weekend because I have time to think about what you are really saying. We are at the same stage, if not the same place. I find it comforting and intriguing.On the lighter side, so far the view from a Crows Nest at Sunset, and that jam are on my”Best of the Galry” list. Looking forward to more of everything.
Thanks Kelley. Looking forward to meeting you!
I love your attitude! I’m thrilled that my new book “Find Your miniQs(?):Reveal the Slim, Strong, Sexy Star You Truly Are! at Age 50, 60, 70 & Beyond” should be in print in the next week or so.In the “About” section of your blog, you wrote, “I work out a few times a week although would be very interested in taking a pill once a day so I don’t have to.”Through pure necessity, back in my mid-60s, I found a way to attain and maintain my optimum weight and have FUN doing it, Forget “pharmaceutical” diet pills. Now, I’m helping others to accomplish this by designing their own way – that fits into their unique lifestyle. I’m loving it! I, thankfully, love my age!I’ll be in touch as soon as I have the copy and EBook ready to go.
Bobbie — Congrats on your book. I love your perspective and in my own business am gathering a number of amazing women like you. Could we talk? There may be a mutually beneficial relationship here and I’d love to explore it.–Tereza
Looking forward to the book.