Aging is weird… and apparently I missed the rulebook 🙄

Aging is weird… like just weird; don’t know how else to explain it 🤣

​And I’m not just talking about the body changes, the random aches, the “why did I walk into this room?” moments. I’m also talking about the way people view aging and the things they say to you about it… or at least to me about it – obviously I can’t speak for you. 😜 

The things that have recently been said to me… well, damn, I guess there’s a memo I missed somewhere along the way that there are all these freakin’ rules I’m supposed to follow now that I’m a woman of a certain age! 🙄

“Act your age.”
“You’re too old to do that.”
“You’re too old to wear that.”

Can you relate to any of those? I mean I guess I should be thankful I’ve been getting these types of comments instead of all the nasty body hate/body shame comments I used to get. 🤷‍♀️

​I just don’t get it. Aging is already weird enough without people deciding we’ve aged out of doing certain things, wearing certain things, etc.

Like WTF?! 🤦‍♀️

I’m “Too Old” for Whimsy?!

Lately I’ve gotten a few comments about the cozy, whimsical, magical vibe I’ve been leaning into; being told I’m too old for this silliness.

(If you want to know the WHY behind me leaning into this – read all about it here: why I’m bringing more whimsy into midlife).

I turned my bathroom into a whole whimsical cozy vibe (here’s an IG reel if you want to see it​!) and my, what was once my office, into a fairy core she room and I am OBSESSED… but that’s a story for another day 😜 although you can see some pics of things in the she room in this blog post​) 

Yep, apparently that’s too much silliness for someone “my age”…

PUHLEASE!

I’ve been told I’m too much most of my freakin’ life so whatever – this isn’t something new.

Let me say this in the nicest way possible…

The people making those comments NEED some magical cozy whimsical vibes in their lives! 🤣 

Too Old To Wear This?!

And then there was a few weekends ago… my man and I actually went OUT. At night. This NEVER happens. Seriously I couldn’t tell you the last time we were out past 3 or 4pm! 😂 But I digress…

I got all dressed up, did my hair and makeup, the whole nine yards. I wore a dress that isn’t my normal vibe. It was black with cherries on it. 

Out of five dresses I was trying on (at the store) it was the one my man loved, so I went with it.

Then it sat in my closet for a few months… until the night we went out. LMAO.

And let me just say… hot damn.

Once I got ready, I felt cute as hell. Sexy. Playful. And the dress was totally vibing with that fun, whimsical energy I’ve been leaning into lately.

But the crazy thing about that dress? 

Women were hyping me UP all night. 

• “Girl, your boobs look amazing in that!” (I mean… they weren’t wrong 😂 but let’s be real, when you’ve got the size of girls I’ve got… they tend to make an appearance)
• “That dress looks so good on you!”
• “Where did you find that dress? It’s so cute!” 

Oh I should probably share a pic of me and this fun little dress! LOL (no judging the dirty mirror, thank you very much 😜)

And Then… Facebag Happened

So of course I posted some pics on good ole Facebag (yes, I said Facebag on purpose 😆 and I’m sure ya the social platform I’m reall referring to – Facebook).

99.9% of the comments were positive…

But then there was that one. (I mean there’s always one right?! 🙄)

“DON’T YOU THINK YOU’RE A LITTLE OLD TO BE WEARING SOMETHING LIKE THAT?” 

And yes, the person yelled it at me (all caps seems like someone is literally yelling at you – am I right?!). 

Excuse me… what?

Too old for what exactly? 
The cherries?
The cleavage?
The fact I dared to put my middle-aged body in a fun fruit covered dress?

UGH!

A comment like that used to send me spiraling. I would’ve sat there wondering if everyone else was thinking the same thing… questioning myself… shrinking a little.

Thankfully, not this time.

But what I couldn’t shake was the anger.

Because I am so damn tired of women tearing other women down.

And Then Costco Pushed Me Over the Edge

This isn’t even just an online thing either.

A few months ago I was at Costco, sitting down to eat my pizza (because every time I go, a slice is a non-negotiable 😋).

If you’ve ever been at a Costco food court you know you do not get a table to yourself, so I ended up sitting with two other women.

There were two women standing nearby waiting for their orders… and the women at my table started picking them apart.

About woman #1:
“She’s too old to be wearing a short skirt like that. That’s just nasty at her age.”
“Those sparkly shoes… she’s definitely too old for something like that.”

And about woman #2:
“She’s way too big to be showing her belly like that. She needs to cover that up. That’s gross.”

I couldn’t take it anymore. I was pissed.

So I said something!

Not as gracefully as I would’ve liked, and a few cuss words came out (not surprising if you know me LMAO). But I told them it was disgusting to sit there and pick apart two strangers who were doing absolutely nothing wrong… just living their lives, laughing, enjoying themselves, simply wearing clothes they liked.

Did it stop them? I don’t know. I had to get out of there.

But before I left, I walked over to those two women waiting for their orders and said:

“I love your outfits.”

And then I walked out.

Who the Hell Made These Rules?

This is what I keep coming back to…

Who the hell created these “rules” about aging?

Why does anyone think a short skirt, sparkly shoes, or a cherry dress is something a middle-aged woman can’t wear?

Who decided that at 51, I’m supposed to stop having fun? Stop playing? Stop bringing magic and whimsy into my life?

None of this is hurting anyone.

So all these age rule enforcers out there need to step back and mind their own f***ing business.

Because life is way too short to be that invested in what another woman is wearing or how she’s choosing to create joy/fun/magic/whimsy – whatever the hell you want to call it – in her life.

Welp, Yep I Said What I Said!

So if being “too old” means I’m not supposed to have fun, wear what I want, or create a little magic in my life…

yeah, I’m gonna go ahead and ignore that rule. 😜

Your Turn!

Let’s call this out together…

What’s something you’ve been told you’re “too old” to do, wear, or enjoy?

And more importantly… did you do it anyway? 🤩

Tell me in the comments. I’m all ears. 👇