Happy Summer from Mature Resources

A Letter from Our Editor
Sharon Sultan Cutler

Why Are We So Into “Age”…?

Introspections by a Woman of a Certain Age

I’m not quite sure why “age” consumes us to the degree it does. Age does stalk us everywhere during our lifetimes - from the day we’re born to the day someone pays for our obituary notice.

For instance, friends and family remind us early on in our lives to “act our age”. That’s easier said than done, but five-year-old kids simply have no place to turn to get expert learning advice on behaving like a five-year-old who wants praise rather than punishment.

I assume we could ask someone a year or so older, but I’m not sure how far that would get us!

If we were such good actors who really actually acted our age, Hollywood would discover all of us, except for those who simply never learned the wisdom of acting age-appropriate. Poor souls!

And, when we don’t fit the “norm” which our elders expect us to follow (i.e., their norm), in their eyes, we’re not normal. Their judgment calls about us range from “too immature, too sweet, too smart, too sexy, too selfish”, to “you-name-it”. I am eager to meet some people who are “too perfect.”

Forget that last one, I’ve met a few “too perfect” people and they are boring to be around.

I have been very media and marketing-conscious for a long time. I won’t mention how many years. Check the general (and made-up) headlines in magazine and newspaper headlines: how to be sexy after 45; 50 is the new 30; 60 is the new 43; how to put old on hold until all your bones ache; fearless after 50 and friendly after 70; I had my first baby when I was 52 (but I don’t know who the father is); and Retiree, 87, wins and then loses Lottery millions on 20-year-old model and 65-year-old wife.

Those headlines are just from last Tuesday!

Many woman and men lie about their age. Are they ashamed or perhaps just unsure of their actual birth date? Others skirt the issue with a joke or a casual threat. However, most newspaper wedding page announcements require your age (but not your sex) immediately beside your name. The same thing goes with obituary notices, although some slip by without the age, which makes you wonder if they died too early….

Our website, www.MatureResources.org emphasizes Positive Aging. That’s an endearing term. I’m glad we were some of the first people to coin this expression.

But I recently spoke to a marketing insider who told me anti-aging is the big buzz word in selling products today. That turned my world upside-down, even for a mamo-second.

So now we have hundreds of these anti-aging creams, serums, powerful potients, face fillers, neck fixer-uppers, arm tighteners, skin fade-out gels, cellulite-busting blasters, profile camouflages, and the ever-popular juvenile to senior pimple creams available to pay us back with instant youth. We all trust the ingredients will work magic to renew, restore and rejuvenate us. We know that to be true because we read the labels and instructions. And we know instructions never lie…or they wouldn’t work, would they?

Actually, it makes sense that scientific words on anti-aging labels justify their purchase. Who would take the time and trouble of inventing these 18-syllable ingredient names if they didn’t bring “yesterday in-a-jar” for a fair price to pay.

What’s great about these anti-aging products is that you can buy them in your local pharmacy or high-end versions at beauty boutiques and select department stores. Many medical professionals sell them too – doctors, dermatologists, plastic surgeons, chiropractors, eye-ear-and-nose specialists, and even some gynecologists.

Today, both men and women are into wearing products that reinforce youthfulness. When I was single, I used to borrow my boyfriend’s lipstick and concealer. Now that I’m married, I have my own. A word for the wise: never share your eye make-up with someone else (male or female) as it may breed some bug or two. That goes for blue eye shadow, too.

Rather than be a hypocrite, let me admit that I would probably try an anti-aging remedy or consider facial fillers in several key areas if I knew they would work. Yes, I would be a model for a complete or partial make-over if some famous spa or doctor would recognize that my son’s wedding is in three weeks and I need some assistance.

But instead of calling it anti-aging…could we call the results “Positive Aging?” Psychologically, that would make me feel so much better!

Wishing all of you a wonderful summer…whether you wear a swimsuit or just a cover-up!

P.S. Before I knew what the operation was actually for, I envied all my neighbors who were getting hip replacements. I thought that finally there was an operation that made sense for wide-hipped former hippies like me!