We are in our Fabulous forties, fifties & sixtie's is a N/A group. It is a CLOSED group. We are in our Fabulous forties, fifties & sixtie's has 1,249 members. So people rank it like a Medium group. 157870444235509 is the identifier of this group with Facebook. Last update is on 2015-04-15 21:23:37.
~ The Fabulous Forties, Fifties & Sexy Sixties~
* Welcome to my Fabulous group*
~We are all Baby Boomer friendly in here!~
"Vintage Beauty Can Still Turn Heads"
By Shelley K Ma'nos
~ The fifties have become a treasured era. Everything from extravagantly finned cars to early rock and kitschy appliances are in vogue. Come to think of it, everything about the fifties is cool, except being from that decade yourself.
I started to write this column as a whiny diatribe about the incredible effort it takes to be over 50. Devoting oneself to the endless minutiae and real work associated with middle-age strikes me as a Herculean task. I should meditate, do aerobics, pilate' s, and lift weights. I need to combat my creeping inflexibility, my spreading chubbiness, and (if I watch the commercials correctly) my crumbling bones. I also have to remember to take vitamins and calcium — remember the crumbling bones. I have never done this before. A big healthy girl, I always felt that I took in more than my share of nutrients. I am even resentful of my teeth, which need brushing twice a day. That is a lot of attention to things that mostly get me in trouble by eating too much anyway. And what about older skin? I now know that middle-aged women need to exfoliate regularly.Apparently our skin doesn’t slough off every few days as it did back in the vigorous years. So now I have this product that sits in my bathroom, saying, “USE ME”.Mundane chores require attention: Yesterday I attended to the dry cleaning, laundry, and hand wash. Today I’ll vacuum, clean the toilets, and replace any flowers that might make home life a little more fabulous. Sometimes I am even mad at the decomposing posies, which tell me to empty, wash, and reconsider spending on ephemeral niceties.Sometimes I do find the time to vegetate on the couch wrapped in a blanket that probably needs to be hand washed, and just read a novel. Even then I wonder if my reading time wouldn’t be better spent on spiritual texts, or guides to healthy eating, or any other reading material that makes you feel righteous.As I wind up my whine about all that it takes to maintain my middle-aged life, I have a vision:
I see a parade of American cars from the 1950s in various stages of glorious renovation and dilapidation — just like many of us fifties babies. I can hear the drivers, who also happen to be the car’s mechanics and virtual lovers. None of them bemoaned the upkeep of their vintage beauties. To the contrary, it was just something they did. They oiled the leather, made creative choices about the replacement of parts, and took care to clean, polish, and cherish their charges. No longer could they run these cars at full throttle but that didn’t stop these vintage babies from turning heads with class and vintage panache.
And in a flash, I saw me — my vintage self who needs exfoliating and dental whitening, hair color, workouts, and attention to nutrition. I know that I can’t move the way I used to, or ride the wildest ponies. But I am still a keeper! I am not interested in real bodywork to nip here, tuck there, and erase my rusty spots. Still, I can give myself regular tune-ups at the gym and a better diet that is lighter on sugar and alcohol.
I try to do the necessary renovations with joy rather than rancour, remembering as I catch the occasional glimpse of my own extravagant curves in a shop window that I truly am a product of the fabulous fifties. And while I have learned to boogie and cut back on the kitchy accessories, I remain, heart and soul, a vintage woman! Proud and well made.~
© Shelley K. Ma'nos October 15th 2010
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~ The meaning of Success to me~
Success is speaking words of praise
In cheering another persons way.
In doing the very best you can.....with every task and every plan......It's silent when words can hurt..... It's politeness when your neighbors curt......It's loyalty when duty calls...... and courage when disaster falls... It's patience when the hours are long
It's found in laughter and in song... It's in the silence of your prayers....In happiness and in despair......In All of life and nothing else...... We find this thing called success.
Copy Right Rocky Tierney Ma'nos 1974-2010 — with Rocky Ma'no
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