I have been known to roast various family members here in this column and for the most part, they all take it pretty well. I think mostly due to the fact that no one in my immediate family reads this newsletter as it isn’t a tweet or an Instagram post or some other social media meme. But, now it is time to ‘man up’ and take my lumps.
Yes, this month it was my turn to celebrate a milestone and I have to say, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be. I was spoiled by friends and family and enjoyed some very lovely, heartfelt sentiments/wishes. It was nice to catch up with friends I haven’t seen in ages. We laughed and commiserated about some of the less attractive side-effects of aging. Sure, with age comes confidence, experience and inner peace (more on this later) and pain and insomnia and degenerating eye-sight….which was dreadfully illustrated by the gift I received from my daughter. She surprised me with one of those magnifying mirrors to aid in make-up application and I can’t tell you how horrified I was to discover what my skin actually looks like. N-oh my God! I mean, of course I had noticed that the edges of everyday objects had gotten fuzzier and I do own several pairs of ‘readers’ strategically placed in all areas of the house/car/office. But I didn’t make the connection and attribute my ‘smoother’, ‘less blemished’ complexion with anything less than good genes, adequate sleep and increasingly expensive face creams. Ha! What a fool I was! I am telling you now, I have a great mirror for sale, cheap! I definitely prefer to live blissfully unaware of the ravages of time.
Another cool thing I got for my birthday was a new kitchen floor. This may not seem like an appropriate gift to mark such an occasion but I will tell you something, inner peace can be achieved by colour matching your hardwood to the dog’s fur!
So, in my 50 years on this planet, what wisdom do I have to share with all of you?
Denial, it’s a good thing.