This is me at two!
It is pretty obvious from the picture that I thought I was pretty hot stuff. And from the looks of this photo, I had great plans to continue.
Time takes its tariff on the intentions we had as a child.
Your birthday is coming up or has just past. Maybe it is a big number ending with a zero or a five. Those are the tough ones. The others in between seem to slide by.
The scary part is when you look at the Obituaries in the paper there are now names you recognize. You probably never looked before.
Here are a few suggestions that you might consider to weather this storm. They follow the five stages of grief that Elizabeth Kubler Ross made famous. In a way, getting older is a form of grief.
1. DENIAL. Of course, the first thing we do is start lying. (Someone once told me you have to start lying by at least five years because everyone else is lying and they immediately add five years on to what you claim is your age)
If we tell the truth we are now admitting it to ourselves. That is the beginning of freedom. You will probably be surprised because instead of someone feeling sorry for you because you are SO OLD, you will probably hear, “You have got to be kidding! You look great!”
2. ANGER. I haven’t done —- (Fill in your grievances here) then, get a yellow pad and get really mad about what you think you have missed. Don’t leave anything out. Remember, no one else will see this list but you and there is relief in admitting all.
3. BARGAINING. Please God let me live long enough to (fill in the blank)
Decide you will.
When I was in the travel business, I had a client who owned a funeral parlor. He used to book a big trip between Thanksgiving and Christmas. He called it his “slow season.”
I was curious about it because it was also flu season. Didn’t a lot of people die then? He told me people who make it past the first holiday do not die because they decide not to. So decide you will live long enough for your bargain to manifest. The Power of Intention is powerful!
4. DEPRESSION. You may need some medical help with this. Do not be ashamed to talk to your doctor. A round of anti-depressants might give you a lift so you can get on with the life. It is very hard to reinvent yourself if you are depressed.
One of the hardest parts of getting older is not having a goal, a passion. We are very ready to say, “What’s the use?”
The “use” is that we have learned a lot. We have made mistakes. We have had successes. There are young people out there who need to know what we know – including your children and grandchildren.
There are small businesses that are struggling and you could help. There are organizations like the Girls and Boys Club who could use you to help kids who need your wisdom and help with their homework. You may say you don’t have the energy. You may have to push yourself to volunteer once a week but you will feel better about it after that day. And you won’t feel so lonely.
You owe the planet something by taking up all that space for so many years. It is time to pay your bills. Do you think that someone who needs help is going to say, “Thanks, but you are too old?”
5. ACCEPTANCE. We all have this little secret. Everyone else is going to die except us. So, this is the toughest one. Chances are that we have a number of years to go before we go. But what has to be faced is that we may be on the downhill side of the slope.
But if you are reading this, you are still alive. And, if you are still alive, it means that there is a reason for it.
You can be a “hot” ninety year old!
And have fun remembering the wild and wonderful ride!
Special note:
This article was featured in the twenty second edition of the Carnival of Improving Life
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Well the first and last time I looked at your blog (a few weeks ago) I read about Yaro and I jumped right in over my head and have just now decided I needed a break and I thought I would see what you have been posting on your blog. I have been laughing and sharing it with my sister over the phone and now my husband since he came home.
Thank you so much for the entertainment. I just learned yesterday about RSS and I have now seen it on your site and I have “signed up” and I hope that means I will be notified as soon as you post something now.
I knew I felt an affinity with you 11 years ago when we spoke on the phone briefly as I was ordering a video from you and it has been confirmed in this post. My post yesterday was about turning 64 and how it doesn’t feel old like it did when I was in my early 20’s and heard Paul McCartney singing about it.
And thanks for the tip about Yaro also. He’s wonderful.
Sharon Beck
Sharon Becks last blog post..Is it “Fear”? Or “Excitement”
This is an interesting perspective about ourselves as we get older.
I can remember when I was in my twenties when someone told me he/she was “47″ and thinking, WOW, that’s so old.
And now I’m at that age.
My, how time flies.
And how perceptions can change in the blink of an eye.
I remember thinking I was “hot” and now my thoughts differ but it’s interesting how other people perceive me, causing their thoughts to jar with mine.
In the end, it’s how you truly think and feel about yourself, regardless of your age that matters. Personally, all I can do is take good care of myself, engage in healthy activities and way of thinking and the rest will take care of itself. You won’t mind getting older because you know it’s inevitable.
Good, thought provoking article – you always seem to get me thinking. Interesting!
Stephen Hopsons last blog post..Stephen Hopson Interview with…….Stephen Hopson
Corinne, you’re still hot! At least in blogosphere =)
What I experience now is that my friends giving out invitation card, wedding invitation.. happy but at the same time getting worried to find (or maybe, I should say ‘choose’) a girlfriend and married… I wish =)
Time really flies!
Robert
I know I’m supposed to make some well thought out, intelligent point. But alas….
So, here goes nothing: hot chicks are just way over rated. Don’t worry about losing “hot”. It was just a silly dream anyway.
Oh god what a scream … I almost fell on the floor laughing -You were hot and still are but you even knew it at age 2!!!!
Age, yeah, just had a birthday with a 5 at the end !!! and a 6 at the beginning ……… gag!!! really affected me. I come from the generation that believed “never trust anyone over 30″. So my 30th birthday did not affect me but 31 SLAYED ME.
That’s when I vowed to never let another birthday bother me.
Until I turned 65 ——ME, gorgeous, young, terrific, fun, hip, cool ………me 65 …..me? nooooooooooo. Yes.
Thank god I have had you for a coach to help me walk and cry the months prior to the big day – I was ok til I started getting all that medicare mail… There it was in print –OLD.
Then I turned lemons in to lemonade and hit the acceptance part.
Happy you put this in writing to help us all.
Life hits us everyone of us. But I am still “hot” at least in my own eyes and that’s all that counts. Merci.
I loved wht Violet said how what you think about yourself is all that matters.
If you think you are hot for whatever reasons, then by golly you are! If not, that’s your choice, right?
Besides who cares whether Joe Blow thinks? Is he paying your bills or paying your medical premiums? I didn’t think so.
What Violet said was very valid.
Stephen Hopsons last blog post..End of the Week Gratitude Theme #40: Focusing on YOU
Corinne, Do I smell a Birthday in the works? …..?
My daughter was combing my hair yesterday,..
She said
“Mommy it needs to be pretty in case you die.”
No idea what it means. I just wanted to leave the comment.
Love you.
Dear Sharon -
Glad you got a giggle or two here! I found that picture and just thought it was too good not to use somewhere!
You are in good hands with Yaro and you will do very well because you are the type of person who commits and follows through. I did EVERYTHING he told me to do and it is work to get started. I could not wait for the next lesson to arrive.
Looked at your blog – great! You are a good writer but he is right – you cannot mix ants and gardening in together – (unless the ants are in the garden!)
Will be watching you! And reading – and seeing you grow. This is something you can do even after you are no longer “HOT!”
Dear Stephen -
47 is a baby. We will talk again as you approach the big FIVE O! You may be singing a different tune.
But you will still be our incredible Stephen who has the biggest heart in the world and that’s why everyone will still love you at 47 or 87!
You are doing so much more important work now than when you thought you were really HOT!
Dear Robert -
Just STOP! Many of those people who are rushing into marriage will be divorced and you will free as a bird while you are waiting for the ONE!
Is there an expression in your country “You are a long time married?”
Take your time. Do your great writing. The ONE will show up when you are not even looking for her!
Dear Tom -
To echo your words -
“So, here goes nothing: hot guys are just way over rated. Don’t worry about losing “hot”. It was just a silly dream anyway.”
I have nothing against them – have had my share along the way – but you can’t take most of them to the bank.
You are such a sweetheart! Thank you for your kind words.
Besides, what’s hot or not depends on who you are talking to at the moment!
I am immensely proud of the progress you’ve been making at this blog! You go girl!
Stephen Hopsons last blog post..End of the Week Gratitude Theme #40: Focusing on YOU
Dear Michelle -
Yes, a birthday – September the 8th. Couldn’t you tell I was a Virgo?
But not one with a big 0 at the end so it will just slide by.
Children say the silliest things.
But you better not die or I will kill you!
Dear Violet -
Yes, I remember that birthday of yours well. But nothing but good stuff came into your life after that dreaded day! Admit it!
You are one of a kind. Even you must know that. They broke the mold.
Stay as nutty and productive and loving and open and willing to learn as you are.
That is HOT!
I am one of a kind? I am one of a kind? Well, little French Flirt (as in the beyond charming, delightful picture of you when you were still so magical) .. YOU ARE THE TRUE ONE OF A KIND.
Like attracts Like and while I am a 60s chick – you were the wild and outrageous one in the 50s when NO one dared to do anything remotely out of synch for fear of being branded … especially in the catholic church – for they really shunned women in those days.
As a child growing up in a small town in Pennsylvanis, I used to wonder why my grandmother and mother never went to mass.
Simple: They were not welcome. The “church” in Chicago now has a big sign (marketing and pr and they are out of money – paying off their prienstly scandals) CATHOLICS CAN COME HOME AGAIN.
Not this woman … Home was a place where you were marked and shunned and where the parish priest ruled with an iron hand. I can still remember the words. “Keep it up and I’m going to tell Father Burke on you”. What a Joke. Not welcome in the church or by your neighbors – but this guy still had the power to annilate you.
SO the brave women like you that came before me were the true warriors and I salute you all.
Being nuts in 1968 was a piece of cake.
My name is not really Violet Lily Rose? That’s what I wanted to be called when I was 4 – just a little older than you were in that picture when you still had all the magic.
I think we all still have it – I’m going to look for mine – and if you hear about a 65 year old woman appearing on Michigan Avenue in Chicago with a topless (Rudi Gernrich)
sunsuit on – posing like Betty Grable – that’s me.
Donations accepted.
Dear Violet Lily Rose – or whoever you be!
I want to be certain you get press when you appear on Michigan Avenue topless. I have a few friends at the Chicago Tribune and NBC here!
ARE YOU ONE OF A KIND?
Anyone who reads your comments can testify to that. I do not have to say a word!
If anyone has a Rudi topless sunsuit they are not using – size 12 – please contact Violet at once!
Dear Robert -
I’ve been thinking about all the wedding invitations you are receiving.
Weddings are a great place to meet single women. If they are not with a date – you know they are available!
Time for you to have some fun. Brush up on your dancing skills!
Corinne,
What a scream! I must have had it rougher when I was younger. I wasn’t happy, I didn’t have great friends, fun wasn’t really fun, not that I had time for much fun. I was too busy building my career, family, etc. Then I got divorced and laid off, and then life really got good!
Now that I’m 47 (my real age, no lying), I enjoy life more than I ever have, I’m happier than I’ve ever been, and I have the best friends anyone could ask for. I have a great family, too. I also sing karaoke whether I can carry a tune that night or not. I usually do okay, but some days I can’t hit certain notes to save my life. But nobody cares. They’re too busy being impressed I had enough courage to get up on stage and sing (and too drunk!). They’re usually the ones under 40. I started singing 3 years ago at 44. Most of my friends do karaoke as well. It’s addictive if you’ve never tried it. Some weeks we manage to sing 5 nights out of 7.
I feel like I just started living when I turned 40. The biggest gift of maturity has been that I no longer really care what most people think of me. I’m me, take it or leave it. I take care of myself not out of vanity, but to be able to do what I want to do, whatever that might be at the time:)
This gal is not going to be in perfect shape when she hits the grave. I’ll be sliding in with a beer in one hand, a microphone in the other, body worn out, yelling “that was one hell of a ride!”.
I don’t want a somber wake when I’m gone. I want a karaoke party with free-flowing alcohol and lot of food (paid for by my estate of course), dancing and reminiscing about the good times we all had. I’ll be there in spirit and I don’t want to be bored for 4 hours when I could be singing along with my friends and family.
Don’t let your age get you down. There can be good times coming like you’ve never experienced before. It’s up to you…
Sherri
Being the Change I Wish to See – Sherris last blog post..A World That Stands As One
Dear Sherri -
What a comment!
Loved this part – about your memorial -
“I want a karaoke party with free-flowing alcohol and lot of food (paid for by my estate of course), dancing and reminiscing about the good times we all had. I’ll be there in spirit and I don’t want to be bored for 4 hours when I could be singing along with my friends and family.”
That’s the way the old Irish wakes were when I was a kid. And I am SERIOUS!
Violet Lily Rose will testify on that for you.
I am sure that that occasion is a long way off. You have a lot of partying to do!
Ooohh! Don’t know if I can give up Denial Corrine.
I stopped having birthdays when I turned 40 and I haven’t grown any older since then. I find it works very well for me.
Karen (karooch from Scraps of mind)s last blog post..Scraps of Mind – The Magazine
Dear Karen – Karooch -
40 is a nice round number. STAY WITH THAT.
And even if I knew differently, I would NEVER TELL!
From one hot chick to another: When you are as young at heart as you are Corinne, age doesn’t matter. Life is a great adventure, and I intend to live it to its fullest with each passing birthday. Hope you do to. Love you, Linda Rachel
Karen – Karooch,
I must try this technique … it’s brilliant. That said, birthday parties are so much fun … what do you to instead to celebrate the day?
Miss Gisele B.
Miss Gisele B.s last blog post..Isomers Intellisome and Trace Elements are two lines that are highly targeted and concentrated to fight aging
sounds like a video i just say on the 5 stage of death. haha
zara clothings last blog post..How Does Zara Clothing Compare To Designer Clothing?
Hot does not have an age. You can be hot at 19 or 90 you just have to know how to work it appropriately for your age.