“Youth is wasted on the young” ~ George Bernard Shaw
I was just thinking about that today.
About youth and aging.
About perky tits and chicken neck waddle.
About going from looking in the mirror and worrying if you have enough concealer to hide the zits, to being completely helpless without the assistance of a supersonic magnifying mirror made by NASA to apply anything besides Chapstick.
By the way, what happened to my lips?
Every morning I send out a search party to find my upper lip. It disappeared around five years ago, and I miss it. If you see it out on the town, wearing a wildly undefined coat of Chanel red lipstick, please tell it I’m looking for it and to come home.
What I was really pondering, was my ability as a young woman, to fluctuate between being utterly fearless, to riddled with insecurity, indecision and doubt.
It was quite a swing, the speedball of emotional cocktails – and I know I’m not the only one. You can’t hide. I can sense you there.
Things that used to terrify me, sending me into a cold sweat, have now become second nature. And vice versa.
These days I have no problem letting someone know if they’re out of line. I have mastered the art of confrontation (which when done well, really is an art) to the point where it doesn’t even feel like a disagreement and often we all end up laughing, hugging, singing Kumbaya, and taking a selfie.
I also spontaneously hug people – in public. Complete strangers. It can be triggered by the most random of things, a great haircut, a cool tattoo, an interesting laugh, what they’re eating, a cute dog or if I happen to see them crying.
As a younger woman I would have rather died, run over by a clown car full of disapproving authority figures.
Back then what I lacked in depth, I made up for in reckless abandon.
I was born with very little modesty. I’d show my boobs to anyone who’d ask ( yes there were requests), pee without closing the door, and walk across a beach or crowded pool party in a bikini without a cover up.
I know! I was oblivious. There are pictures.
Now just recalling that makes me sick to my stomach.
I’d also sing at the drop of a hat. At the top of my lungs. That is until I turned thirty and developed crippling stage fright, which only released its grip on me after fifty when I no longer gave a fuck.
I care less and less about making a fool of myself, which is one of the HUGE benefits of getting older. I cannot overstate that.
If only I’d felt that way back then. I’d be Lady Gaga by now.
As I established earlier this month, the older I get, the less fucks I give. I have a limited amount left and I don’t want to waste one.
I’m a Nazi about only spending time with the people I want to see, doing the things I want to do.
I no longer give a fuck about chipped nail polish, carrying the “right bag”, who the latest, greatest anything/anyone is, how big your diamond is, how much grey hair I have, the ebb and flow of the stock market, keeping up with the Kardashians, or who wore it better.
I have bigger fish to fry.
All I give a fuck about is my health, my family, my husband and what my dogs think of me.
A friend complained to me recently, ” Oh God, I don’t need any more friends, I have forty years worth, and I don’t see enough of the ones I have!”
Not me! It seems I make new friends faster and more easily as I’ve gotten older.
Either people have become less discerning, or I’ve suddenly become much more interesting and engaging. (I’m not sure which one bodes better for me.)
Maybe it’s true that like a fine wine, I have improved with age. The jury’s still out, but what I DO know is that I’ve become infinitely more approachable.
And curious.
I was so busy being self involved when I was young, ( if it had been an Olympic sport, I would have medaled), that I really didn’t give a rat’s ass about anyone else. I also thought I knew it all. Now I’m certain of ONE thing only: I don’t know shit about shit.
Here’s the thing, other people seem SO frickin’ interesting to me. Everyone’s doing something fabulous that I need to hear about right now! Their lives are complex, multi-faceted nuggets of wonder and goodness. When did that happen?
In my opinion, youth is wasted on the young because of their lack of appreciation. Also, because in not knowing any better, too many fucks are wasted on frivolous shit that doesn’t matter a day, let alone a year or ten years later.
And by the fact that in the moment – being young seems like it will last forever. Doesn’t it?
Curious to hear what you think.
Big love,
Xox
