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Julie Louisson's avatar

Another relatable and truth-filled post - thank you. In regard to your question/prompt, it's upto us whether we pay attention to what advertisers and society as a whole think about how we look. We don't have to buy into it.

A mother who was in her 40s and whose son plays on my son's football team died suddenly a couple of weeks ago. It's been a jolting reminder that getting "old" is not promised to us, it is a blessing and just how irrelevant other people's opinions of our appearance are. As you say, we need to embrace the life told by the lines on our faces.

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Sue Cauhape's avatar

Wait until you look in the mirror and see your mother staring back at you. Then again, that depends on the relationship you have with your mother. As for advertising, the forties is when the advertisers can really prey upon your fear of aging and death. Everything in your life is pointing to the slowdown in your social and especially your career relevance. If you have a vibrant career, perhaps you're watching your company, unless you own it, hiring younger people who are full of themselves and the snark that goes with that hubris. If you've had one of those haphazard careers made up of a train of jobs leading nowhere that signify a variety of occupations, you're watching your options shrink. That's scary and has very little to do with laugh lines and crows-feet. Luckily, if you can endure the BS until you reach your 60s, you'll suddenly have this magical moment when you feel like you don't have to impress anybody. "Fuck-em!" That's freedom, dear friend. Celebrate and let it spur your power.

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