Growing Older (read mature) Disgracefully

I was surprised at the interest shown in my last post on the kids going back to school. After I had written it I thought, how boring...me going on about the grandchildren. But I couldn't think of anything else to post about and anyway, it sort of wrote itself, I just hit the keyboard. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Anyway, thank you all for your comments which I found most interesting to read, especially the ones from those of you in the Northern Hemisphere. We cannot imagine our kids starting the school year in the middle of the year. It's differences like these that make us interesting to each other.

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Cooper came to visit today and his mum and I were talking about how fast he is growing. Then I suddenly realised she had made me a grandmother at the age she is now...41. Twenty years later I have another grandchild after I was thinking that the next baby along will be my great-grandchild.

After Toni had gone home, I was thinking about this getting older phenomenon and remembered a short story competition I won a couple of years ago. It was the year I turned 60 which made me, in the eyes of the Government, a "senior". I saw this competition for a short story on "Growing Old Gracefully", in 250 words or less, for seniors only and realised that I was now eligible to enter, so I did...and to my delight, won.

Here is the story. I hope you enjoy it.

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“Growing old gracefully.” Well, I don’t believe in growing old gracefully, but I sure do believe in growing old disgracefully!

Ok, we’ve all got wrinkles, and have we earned them, or what? They represent our wisdom and foolishness, our hopes and fears, our joy and sadness-and we wear them with pride. They are our badge of honour.

Arthritis? What arthritis?

Grandkids. Aaah, now there is a subject dear to our hearts. These beautiful children are our heritage, just as we are theirs. We see ourselves in our grandchildren and there is no generation gap to divide us. My Nanny’s cool-a great compliment indeed from a beloved fifteen year old granddaughter.

Still working? And why not? We are valued for our stability and wisdom in the workplace. There are lots of us working grandparents out there and we are the backbone of the work force. We don’t take sickies, we don’t have the worries and responsibilities outside the work place that can sometimes plague younger workers. We are Grey Power!

We are the Baby Boomers and we wear jeans and joggers, we streak our hair, we listen to cool music, we like a glass of Chardonnay or a good hearty red. We travel, we dance, we laugh, we enjoy! If the situation calls for it, we go on dates. We still have an eye for sexy buns or an awesome pair of boobs.

Aging? Bring it on. We have the confidence and panache to carry it off. You bet!