On growing older:

[calimary]

62. A step ahead of both of you. I turned 60 a few months ago.

I never looked my age before. Until lately. Mercifully, my skin's been great throughout, with very few wrinkles that are easy to spot.

But since I turned 60, all of a sudden - who the hell is that looking back at me in the mirror? Fuck!!! What's with that neck????????? (I believe the late great Nora Ephron wrote a whole book on that kind of thing...)

I also have just recently lost about 40 pounds. That plump neck that was a diagonal line from the tip of my chin down to the notch in my neck has now shriveled. I now have a discernible jaw line once again, but shit!!! There's this saying among women (certainly fits men, too, of course) that as you age you have to choose between your face and your ass. Well, thereya go. My face is not winning anymore. Btw - my husband and I are on the same diet, and it seems he's had to choose between his gut and his ass - Holy Cow, the deflation!!!

I remember during the reagan years, Nancy complained about her much-snickered-about fat ankles. She also said she exercised as much as she could but it didn't seem to make much difference anymore. And she was in her 60s at that time. Hated her husband but as far as that aspect, I did feel for her!

On the other hand, I finally gave up on my hair. It's been wanting to turn white since I was in college. For a long time I plucked out the offending hairs but soon it became a race I couldn't win anymore. So I started having it colored - a little lighter with highlights overall, sort of a mask-and-distract strategy. But I wouldn't be able to make time for regular hair appointments - which, with what I needed, quickly became way too expensive both in dollars and time squandered. Three or four hours at a shot! I have thick, heavy hair so it always takes me longer. I'd go so long between appointments that I'd start looking like an interstate highway with the gray roots rushing in. Finally gave up. My hair's gone all white. It's been fun! I took a photo with two longtime friends who are Latino and very dark-skinned. They're both shorter than I am. It looked like they were two normal people standing on either side of the abominable snowman!

The only advantage: unlike with my face - I absolutely LOVE my hair! Shoulda done that 30 years ago!!! Maybe my answer will be - growing out the bangs all the way and just hiding under it all the time! I'll look like a bleached-out Cousin It.

Btw - be sure you're taking your calcium/magnesium and glucosamine/condroitin supplements!

Aging sure isn't for the faint of heart.