As I see it I just look like a typical 77 year old bloke and I've no wish to look anything different. I certainly don't wish I looked 50 years younger, or looked like George Clooney, or looked like a body-builder.
Neither have I ever considered any kind of cosmetic surgery. Once you go down that road you can easily get hooked on it and end up trying one procedure after another - until you look totally artificial. And in any case I have a horror of operations.
But some elderly people hate the way they look and wish they looked young again, or wish they were wrinkle-free. They just can't accept the way they look as perfectly natural and normal and not worth obsessing about.
The way I look is less important to me than whether I'm physically and mentally healthy and able to enjoy life to the full - which I am.
I was never especially eye-catching even when I was young. I had very ordinary looks. I was never going to be pursued by bedazzled women or for that matter bedazzled men. That was something I missed out on, but I don't think I would have enjoyed that level of attention anyway.
I am what I am, warts and wrinkles and all.
I suspect that many who change their appearance are never satisfied.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: I suspect so too. It seems it can easily turn into an addiction that just grows and grows.
DeleteI think it’s best to accept the ageing process and make friends with it - there’s not a lot you can do about it. All the surgery doesn’t really make people look younger, they simply look well ironed.
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Ms Scarlet: Exactly, there's not a lot you can do about it, so why try to outwit the ageing process?
DeleteWhy waste money on surgery to make it obvious that you can't live with your real self.
ReplyDeleteHelen: That's it, people can't live with their real self and foolishly chase after some fantasy self they'll never achieve.
DeleteI have friends who went the rounds of cosmetic surgery and none of them look like real people if you know what I mean. I honestly will never understand why. I have never given a fig about the aging process (no make up or hair dye or nail painting procedures) and am honestly completely astonished when older men hit on me as I don't fit any kind of "norms" as other women would have it. I think they are astonished too, despite all their efforts to look "young". I don't even own a dress or a skirt. And love "sensible" shoes.
ReplyDeleteXO
WWW
www: Funny how every comment fastens on cosmetic surgery! I've always assumed you had no interest in cosmetic surgery or any other "beautifying" palaver. And I always wonder why so many women endure uncomfortable and painful high heels rather than wearing sensible shoes.
DeleteI regret never having breast reduction surgery. We call it the Curse of the Lytles, those of us who inherit our County Cork grandmothers ample, ample chest. I did OK my daughter's reduction when she was 18. I was concerned about nursing babies, but the surgeon said don't worry, and she did.
ReplyDeleteJoanne: Enormous breasts must be an absolute curse. Funny though, from your various photos I wouldn't have guessed you were "well-endowed" as they say.
DeleteActing one's own age is something that a lot of people, not all, cannot seem to accept. It's actually funny to see the clothing some will wear in attempts to look younger when it really makes them look ridiculous. Good for you on accepting that aging is part of the cycle of life. Like you, Nick, I am glad to be able enjoy life, physically and mentally ...and at my age too.
ReplyDeleteBeatrice: I just cringe when I see middle-aged women wearing the sort of "look at me" clothes that are usually confined to the young.
DeleteI very much wish that I looked younger and thinner, like I was 10 years ago.
ReplyDeleteBut not enough to have procedures or dye my hair or waste any time at all on my looks
Kylie: But supposing you could look younger and thinner but you still had a youngster's inexperience? That wouldn't be much good.
DeleteNick, no problem with getting old and older, a horror of cosmetic operations , but concerning clothes I'm sorry who decides what should be for young, middle aged or old persons ? Everybody should be free to chose the clothes she or he or who ever wants to wear. By the way all high heels are not painful and believe me they make sometimes very beautiful legs .
ReplyDeleteHannah
Hannah: Yes, this obsession with what clothes are "suitable" for what age group is ridiculous. A lot of young people wear very eye-catching and revealing clothes while many oldies wear rather bland and dowdy clothes. Sure, we should all be able to wear what we want, without other people's disapproval.
DeleteI gather high heels are okay if they're shaped in a way that puts an even pressure on your feet.
Mary says "I agree, we should all be thankful with how we look. Too many people end up under the knife trying to look better and plastic surgery ends up badly. I'm happy with how I look too."
ReplyDeleteMary: With badly done plastic surgery, the person can become unrecognisable. Why keep messing around with your appearance?
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