Women Over (Insert Age) Shouldn’t…

What’s the deal with all of the articles telling women what we should do/wear/own/think, etc. based on our age? I just don’t get it. I also don’t understand why I keep looking at the darn things. *facepalm* Someone please stop me. I often wonder what will happen to the individuals who write these articles when they reach the age they have written about and realize they have no sudden desire to follow their own rules? On the positive side, it only takes a quick internet search to find oodles of articles disputing/mocking all of the “must do” lists. I guess this post now joins them.

One of the most baffling articles I have read to date is this one:

https://www.countryliving.com/home-maintenance/organization/g4721/things-no-woman-over-40-should-have/

What is it about this article that bugs me more than most? Everything. Why does this even have an age attached to it? Based on this article it’s okay to have orphaned socks and stinky shoes until you hit forty, then they have to go. What? And the “but no judgement” bit? Don’t even get me started. (I know. Too late.)

You. Are. Awesome. Rock on.

You. Are. Awesome. Rock on.

For the most part, as we age, we grow in a sense of confidence – of being comfortable in our skin. Does that mean we always have it together? Of course not. No one does. But, we have survived everything life has thrown at us so far and have the stretch marks and scars to prove it. We have earned the right to make our own decisions about what we own, what we wear, etc., etc., etc. So, the next time one of these articles works its way into your social media feed, ignore it. I am going to strive to do the same. And you know what else? I’m going to be wearing my blue jeans and graphic tees until I’m too old to dress myself and I’ll fight anyone who tries to take them from me. Love your shot glass collection? Good for you! I say flaunt it.

My life advice regardless of your age? Be you. Wear what you love. Decorate your home in the way that makes you happy. Let your awesome shine – don’t worry about what anyone else thinks.

6 comments

  1. Ami Denise Chancellor-Phillips says:

    I get the points about getting rid of broken things (that can’t be repaired or, let’s face, are never going to be repaired), and clothes that don’t fit (and haven’t fit for several years). I’ll keep my buttons, because you never know when you’re going to need one, and my lonely socks, because you never know when it’s mate will make an appearance. I threw out a lonely sock a couple of weeks ago; it’s mate appeared within the following days. Won’t make that mistake again.

    All of that said, keep your dirty paws off my old birthday and holiday cards, and, for goodness sakes, don’t even look at my books. There will be pain involved if you try to take them. I used to have every artwork and special paper that my kids brought home from daycare and school. My ex made me consolidate it down to 3 large storage container. Completely reasonable. I won’t have less than that , though. The cards, the books, the papers from my kids mean the world to me. They are a connection to a time gone by, and I treasure each and every one.

    In short, thank you for your advice; take it with you on the way out the door. Have a good day. :-)

    • Isabella Norse says:

      Exactly. Some things are just common sense – why tie them to an age? After dealing with boxes (and boxes and boxes) of stuff belonging to our parents I plan to do everything I can not to leave my own children in the same situation. That said, I have a LOT of old greeting cards and some of my kid’s school papers. I’ll never part with those so the kids will have to deal with that, LOL.

  2. Piroska says:

    Great post! So true.
    I’ll also add that it’s disappointing to me that we *still* aren’t allowed to age gracefully, let our hair go silver, maybe even (gasp) drop the makeup. I grew tired of stuffing my over-plump grandma body into Spanx (nothing but a glorified girdle). I thought I burned those, and my bra, back in the 70s?

    As for the hair–I had glorious, long auburn hair, then I hit peri-menopause and lost a good bulk of it.Now I have baby fine, long, mostly white hair, and I refuse to put chemicals on it or cut it short.. My luck, with my skin, I’d lose the rest of it!

    I look like a *real* housewife and grandmother, in a world that promotes The Real Housewives of …
    And I’m fine with it!

    • Isabella Norse says:

      It’s so frustrating that men become “silver foxes” but women just become “frumpy” and get criticized for “letting themselves go.” *screams*

      Good for you for just letting aging happen. I intend to do the same. At 56 I’m still mostly a strawberry blonde but it inches more into the blonde end of the spectrum every day, LOL. If my cousins are any indication, I have beautiful white hair in my future and I’m fine with that.

      Thanks for stopping by!

Leave a Reply to Piroska Cancel reply