A woman stated she wanted to be 35 again. The Bob Seger song, Against the wind, was quoted: “Wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then.”
By Tom P Blake - Finding Love after 50
As often happens, there were more responses to Part Two of last week's newsletter than to the main message in Part One. Part Two included Rita's statement that she wished she could be 35 again. Champs picked up on that comment and ran with it.
Jennifer said, "People can find a happy relationship at ANY AGE, and THEY DO SO ALL THE TIME. Yes, she is getting older, but so are all of the men. The main thing to do is to keep herself as fit and slim as she can. She is not expected to look 35. She is only expected to look as good as she can for her age.
"Women who still have interests outside of themselves and who are still able to have fun are far more attractive to men than women who look perfect but seem unhappy. Men envision a happier and more enjoyable life with the happy woman, regardless of how she looks."
Lloyd said, "I would never want to be 35 again, I don't think I would survive it a second time. Turning 50 did not end anything in my life and one does not instantly become a dud. In fact, the opposite is true.
"At 50, you now likely know what qualities in a partner you must have. In your relationship or in the partner you are looking for, you become more selective."
Holly, Colorado, added, "I wouldn't want to be 35 again for anything. I might want to be this age and LOOK like I'm 35 again, but wouldn't want to be 35. Those were tough years. Life is much better now."
Marta, Montreal, shared, "We women are particularly vulnerable to feeling old because we are physically aging, but consider the alternative...pushing up daisies? Once you find the person who is right for you, all of that worry about your body falls away. I PROMISE it is true, you'll be so happy and so will he. A worthwhile man will care about your health, not your wrinkles. Get or stay fit, your energy spent with him having fun is what will make a meaningful life. Compared to that, aging matters little."
Mark was succinct: "Yep. There's a great exchange in Jurassic Park II:
"John Hammond: 'Don't worry, I'm not making the same mistakes again.'
"Ian Malcolm: 'No, you're making ... you're making all new ones.'"
No explanation needed.
MJ, "I'm 51 (or, as my brother would say, “fiddy” one). In speaking of age, actress Betty White, said, 'You're the same person inside, you just look older.'
"No, don't want to be 35, or even 45-didn't know then what I know now. I'm not worried how men or women judge me based on my age-screw em."
MJ's comment made me flash on one very memorable line from the 1980 Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band song, Against the Wind:
"Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then"
(At the end of today's column, I've added a U-tube link to the entire Against the Wind song. It's an incredible piece of music, particularly meaningful to people who grew up in the Midwest and moved to another part of the country. And no, we can never go back again.)
Bonnie, "As I turn 64 next week, I resonate with your answers to Rita; I would most certainly not want to go back into my earlier years. I've written a memoir about those years--not yet published but I expect it will be in late 2012. It's just that I've learned so much from my past, and since I believe in a loving God, I believe life/consciousness continues. We are not our aging bodies. I love myself as I am.
Oh, to be 35 again? Not among this group.
Link to: Against the Wind (over 12 million downloads)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcDCvQbOdig