Thursday, February 25, 2010

Excellent Women

On Sunday, I was at Publix waiting to check-out.  In front of me was a slim lady with dyed black hair wearing skinny jeans, leopard print flats, and a cute tunic top.  She was flipping through a fashion magazine and chatting away on her cellphone.  She looked to be in her late twenties or possibly early thirties.

Then she turned around AND SHE WAS OVER 60!  Her wrinkly face was caked in makeup and her skin was orange from fake tanning.  She was older and pretending to be younger and truly not pulling it off.

I realized then that I was wearing a cardigan, holding a jar of Polander High Fiber Low Sugar Fruit Spread, and reading a copy of Tea Time magazine.  "Amanda..." I said to myself, "...face it, you are meant to be an old lady in a Barbara Pym novel organizing a church jumble and pottering about with tea in the garden."  This makes me really happy for some strange reason.  Albeit, a tattooed Pym heroine, but a Pym heroine nonetheless.

6 comments:

Hannah Stoneham said...

Love this post, and I must say that I have frequently felt similar! Hannah

Giggly said...

I was born to be a grandma. :) Great post. XOXOX

Unknown said...

Hee hee. That's a great story, especially because of the irony and symmetry.

I do admit that it's hard sometimes to grow older, because you begin to feel left behind. But it's still better to grow older with dignity, because age can bring a certain amount of circumspection and wisdom, being able to see sides of the story that you couldn't when you were 20. That's what I've been realizing, anyhow, in my own experience. I don't think that's anything to be ashamed of.

-TimK

Andi said...

Hooray! The lady trying to be young sounds truly horrifying. I would much rather hang out with you and the tea and tats.

Tea and Tats = good band name or blog name...

Thomas Hogglestock said...

LOL! I have been an old man myself since I was a kid. And I am halfway through Pym's Excellent Women, so I know exactly what you are talking about.

Anonymous said...

Ha! I love this. And I can SO relate. When I was a senior in high school I spent every afternoon with a woman who was at least 25 years older than me - and considered her my best friend. I used to be so perplexed as to why I didn't fit in and connect with people my age. One day I realized that it's because people my age (17 at the time) weren't really all that into having tea parties, baking,embroidering, and discussing old novels.

Now at 30, I still sometimes find that I am drawn to and have a great deal more things in common with older folks than with my peers. Like you, I think I became an "old woman" at a very young age. :)