Ill answer you in a minute, she assured me.
But before I do, I just want to say, Nobody is going to be looking at you.
And how right she was!
Images Courtesy of Judith Viorst
I have never been one of those willowy, golden, toned beauties.
On the other hand, even nowin my mid-90sI dont especially want to be invisible.
Ive answered that question just for myself, not for anyone else.
A simple lass from the suburbs of New Jersey. This is me at 21 in a beach hat, too much lipstick, and not enough eyeliner.
But below are two possibly helpful generalizations:
A simple lass from the suburbs of New Jersey.
This is me at 21 in a beach hat, too much lipstick, and not enough eyeliner.
I got looked at a lot, especially when I went to visit my parents back in New Jersey.
My Village Girl era: black top, statement earrings, long hair piled on my head. What deep thoughts was I thinking?
Even nowin my mid-90sI dont especially want to be invisible.
My Village Girl era: black top, statement earrings, long hair piled on my head.
What deep thoughts was I thinking?
In my With-It Mommy period, I often wore this glorious Gussie and Becky fake-Oriental-rug coat, which I bought in the mid-1960s. It has aged better than any of us and here I am still wearing it on cold winter days.
And thenoh, wow!
oh, wow!the 1960s explodeand was I ever ready and eager to dress for them.
In a coat made out of a fake Oriental rug.
The Hat Lady years: Starting in my 50s, I wore hats all the time.
In a tent dress made of a white lace tablecloth.
I liked my new look, and I liked being looked at, too.
But then I hit my 40s.
Meet Tattooed Grandma. Showing off one of my flasher rose tattoos at 94.
And then my 40s started hitting me.
Whose breasts these are I think I know.
But have they always hung so low?
I once wrote about that reflection in the mirror.
It has aged better than any of us and here I am still wearing it on cold winter days.
Now some of my bodys decline can be attributed to natures inevitabilities.
But some must be attributed to a seriously poor attitude toward exercise.
(Ive been told by many this does not count as exercise.)
I have not worn a belt since I was 52.
The Hat Lady years: Starting in my 50s, I wore hats all the time.
Within its kindly frame, Ive finally switched from my heavy green liner to a soft gray.
Don’t ask me whysurely I’m not convincing anyone that I am the world’s oldest-living natural brunette.
My Hat Lady look has worked for me for decades.
But it seems I’m not finished finding new looks quite yet.
For Ive recently taken to wearing tattoos, specifically the tattoo of a single rose.
I have several reasons for liking it a lot.
Showing off one of my flasher rose tattoos at 94.
Why should we care so much about how we look?
Why does it feel so important to be seen?
Arent there more meaningful things to think about, to read about, to do?
Or, as one unsentimental friend of mine recently put it to me, Give it up already!
Youre wasting your time.
In six more years, youll be either 100 or dead.
As one friend of mine put it, Give it up already!
In six more years, youll be either 100 or dead.
I really do get it.
I totally get it.
But the people I love the most embrace whats playful and fun as well as whats profound.
Celebrate as well as cogitate.
And are willing to discuss, without apology, both eyeliner and the meaning of the universe.
The people I love the most have always looked beyond my look to whats inside.
But I cant wait to introduce them to Tattooed Grandma.
–the actual end–
Read more about aging:
