70 is the New “I Don’t Care”

If you are young, and by young I mean under 70 years, this post probably won’t resonate with you. In fact, you will likely find it difficult to get past the title. If you’ve made it this far, however, I urge you to keep reading because this will inevitably apply to you. The sad truth is we all get older. The happy truth is that often we get wiser and hopefully end up in the “I don’t care” stage of life. Allow me to elaborate.

On so many levels growing older isn’t fun. The physical changes are relentless and the best we can hope for is a slow decline. The mental decline can be even more devastating. Most impactful of all is the realization that time is running out, and that changes everything.

So, can we hope for any good news in the aging process? As it turns out, yes there is good news and it is that at some point, you just don’t care. Specifically, you just don’t care what others think. (This can be neatly summarized in the Sisterhood mantra: “We’ll never see these people again,” but more on this later)

The I don’t care stage is unique to each of us, and there is gold to be found if we are open to the possibilities. I don’t profess to offer particularly profound thoughts on this topic but if you allow me to present my “I don’t care” journey, you might find a few pearls of wisdom to guide you on yours.

My “I Don’t Care” Journey

I had been skirting around the “I don’t care” stage of life for a few years, but on my 70th birthday I had an epiphany, and a vision crystallized that became my guiding motto. Specifically, I simply no longer cared about other’s opinion of me. When you choose to live your life with this principle in mind, everything changes and you are free to let go of things you no longer care about.

I am sure you can hardly wait to see my list of things I have let go. It’s not long but it has brought me peace of mind and freedom. I can do what I want, when I want. Here it is:

Dresses

I think the last time I wore a dress was at my son’s wedding. He has been married now for almost 8 years. Pants and long sleeve tops are so much simpler and obviously cover more of this senior’s body. Enough said.

High Heels

Ditto for my son’s wedding. I have bunions. Again, enough said.

Mascara

I have blonde eyelashes so one would think mascara is a must. In my case, however, much to the consternation of my daughter, I can’t be bothered. It makes my eyes look as if I rubbed black all over my eyelids, and it’s not attractive.

Brightly Colored Nail Polish

One might characterize this as giving up. I mean who doesn’t like a nice manicure with a bright red polish to top it off? Not me anymore. I prefer a nice coat of clear polish that is understated but still speaks to good grooming.

Although all of the above might signify that I have given up on maintaining my appearance, I beg to differ. I have simply decided to expend energy in areas that matter more to me. I prefer to spend my time working out, playing cards with friends, reading a good book, doing crossword puzzles….or watching a bit of Netflix. (To be clear, I still wear a light lipstick, a tinted sunscreen and pierced earrings.)

And Now For The Really Big Ones….

Cooking

I have never been interested in gourmet cooking or even anything that might take hours to prepare. I used to force myself to produce delicious food but I always felt that given the food was devoured in less than 10 minutes, I couldn’t see the point. Obviously I can’t give up on cooking altogether. One still needs to eat, but now my meals are simple, and quick. Dinner is nothing more than a salad loaded with vegetables along with a protein source, usually meat. I sometimes change it up with a healthy vegetable loaded soup. That’s pretty much it as far as variety goes.

Flying Economy Class

Two of our children live far away (one in Finland and one in Australia), so visiting them entails long flights. In spite of the fact that Business Class is obscenely expensive, my 70+year old body needs to be able to sleep, stretch and quickly and easily access the bathroom. Most woman over 70 can probably identify.

We’ll Never See These People Again

Perhaps the biggest influence on my journey has been the Sisterhood’s primary focus. As referenced earlier, we adhere to a motto that simply doesn’t care what others think, mainly because “We’ll never see these people again.”

If you have followed any of our adventures, you are aware that we have been known to wear tiaras in public, talk to strangers in a bar, talk to strangers in elevators or anywhere else an opportunity presents itself. Usually we make up slight exaggerations regarding our personal story. Sometimes we are distantly related to a famous personality or one of us is getting married for the third time. You get the picture. 😉 Above all, we do not take ourselves seriously, and laughter is the main objective.

Although neither Middle or Little Sis are 70 yet, they are inching closer and I like to think that I have led the way in helping them to prepare for their journey. By their 70th birthdays I think I can safely guarantee that they just won’t care. Betty Would Love That!

We will be doing a new post every Monday so stay tuned for our next one entitled “The Sisterhood Leaps into 2024.”