Define THIS!

Ever think about what supposedly defines "Middle Aged" or "Elderly"? I do. I think about it every time a kid refers to me as "ma'am."

These are some of the many definitions I found online for Middle age:

• The period of life from about 45 to about 64 (Merriam-Webster)
• Middle age is the period of age beyond young adulthood but before the onset of old age. Various attempts have been made to define this age, which is around the third quarter of the average life span of human beings. (Wikipedia)

And for Elderly:

•  rather old; especially : being past middle age (Merriam-Webster)
• Most developed world countries have accepted the chronological age of 65 years as a definition of 'elderly' or older person... (WHO)

Boy, that Merriam-Webster doesn't come at you easy, does it?

I think I'm going to stick with my usual "I'm only as young as I feel." I'll be real about this. I'm going to be 52 this year. My heart feels 5, my body feels 40. Except for my knees. Sometimes, those feel older than Methuselah. 

I have come to think of being "not young" as not knowing how to laugh loud and out loud, not loving to play like a little kid, and not wanting to have an open heart with people you love.  I still laugh like a hyena when something is funny and I love to play. My little brother thinks I am just a grow-up kid. I have a niece in her teens who loved our driveway one-on-one basketball games (and I don't even know how to play b-ball!). That's fine with me.

People, don't let the world define you. You are defined by the the way you have loved and the way you have lived.

When my body does get old, I'll be the old chick chasing my friends around on my scooter-mobile. Look for me to be wearing my dark red lipstick and trying to do something cute with my hair. I'll be old as dirt and still wearing my earring at the top (or helix of my ear). Cane or no, I'm gonna be dressing like this: 

Hell, I'd rock both these now if I could afford to! (By the way, these are from Advanced Style blog.   Now a part of my sidebar cos it is the ish! Make sure to check them all the way out.) I knew I was down with it the minute I saw this bad-to-the-bone chick. I couldn't do that when I was 40!

Yep. That's gonna be me. Think I'll start calling myself Cleo when I hit 55.

Peace

--Free

A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones. (Proverbs 17:22)