Throwback Thursday: 1995, Stripes, Brave or Not

Oh boy…am I being really brave or am I being really stupid? Honestly, I don’t know the answer to that question. What I do know is that I am wearing the same shirt in both of these pix. Yes, the exact same shirt! In 1995 with Agatha, the Norwich Terrier, who charmed my world when I lived in New York City and made the journey with me here to the Pacific Northwest; and, me today snapping a selfie almost twenty years later – at least the shirt has conquered the test of time!

Part of me wants to scream “why didn’t I age as well as the damn shirt!” But, if I do shout those words, am I admitting that over the last several months I have really been struggling with the aging thing? I’ll back up a bit and say in my defense that 65 (no, that isn’t a typo, I am 65) has been a very trying year – and along with just normal aging related stuff I think the ravages of stress and loss have definitely taken their toll. Up until this point in life, I felt pretty good about the aging process – thinking that I was doing it with grace and a modicum of dignity. Then suddenly, all of that thinking took a giant turn, running in the opposite direction and now I find myself struggling with the lines, wrinkles, bags and sags that seem to be showing up in droves.

I know that part of the problem is the fact that, because of my jewelry biz, I am fairly immersed in the world of fashion and beauty. And, we all know that we live in a youth-centered culture and maybe we always have; but since I was a part of that demographic at one time it didn’t bother me so much. Then along came the advent of the “selfie” and pow – right in the smacker – there they are, all the signs of having lived 65 long years. I know, I know, technology being what it is today, I could use some pretty amazing app filters and get rid of those signs of life…but isn’t that kind of like brushing mortician’s wax on my face and just admitting that I am dead? I don’t know.

I do know that I have nothing against youth; in fact, I so enjoy following all of the amazing young people, watching as they blindly and energetically tackle the yet unknown world of online media. So, it’s not that I am jealous or envious; I think it is just the reality that I am a “granny” in the hashtag vernacular of online social and video media and somehow that makes me irrelevant, insignificant or worse yet…someone to laugh at, someone without a voice. I'm not quite sure…but I’ll leave it at that and stew over my original question of “brave or stupid.” 

P.S. As for the shirt – it’s proof that quality and classic always win out in the end. If I did a cost per wearing evaluation, it would definitely be in the pennies per wearing range. Pretty hip thinking for a granny, maybe?