Ageism

I am 48...soon to be 49. 26 days. I have no issue with my age, but it seems others do. It seems there are things I am supposed to be too old for. Like playing dress up. Why is it that I am supposed to outgrow things I love? Somethings you outgrow, their usefulness in your life ceases. Playing with dolls would be a good example for me. Some people play with dolls well into their adulthood...they call them action figures. I just lost interest. I loved coloring books and crayons, sharing them with my sons when they were young. I learned to color inside the lines but never followed the rules...pink skies and purple grass. Small kids take issue when you don't follow the rules. As they grew older and the coloring books and crayons vanished, I "matured" into watercolors and acrylics. Unfortunately, I discovered I didn't do so well without someone else to draw the lines. Paint by numbers didn't capture my heart.

I still find great fun in dressing up, whether for a LARP or a goth club. Both excite my creativity. It is becoming that I am in the minority, age wise, but by no means the only over forty...or even forty-five. I guess it is much like playing with dolls, you give it up when it no longer holds your attention. No longer serves a purpose.

Now days, people seems to be amazed (the nicer of the words I can think of) by how I live my life. I should be settling down...after all, I have a grandson. I suspect I am supposed to be babysitting and baking cookies. Neither of these things have ever been high on my to-do list...well, maybe occasionally baking cookies.

I will continue to pursue those activities that engage my mind and speak to my heart...despite my age. I will play dress up with strange clothes and stranger make-up. I will dance to industrial music. I will run through the woods. I will howl at the moon...when I can find it. And if it makes you uncomfortable...go play with your action figures.