by Sandra Kent

Created on: May 04, 2008

Growing older seems to be a "boogieman" for many people. Decades ago my generation famously and smugly asserted they would never trust anyone over 30. Those who survived past that age suddenly had to readjust their thinking. Today people seem to be just as concerned, as many are doing everything they can to stop time and the aging process. Spot a gray hair? Are those crow's feet beside your eyes? Zounds! Do something quick before someone notices. Because no one else has anything to worry about in their own lives so they must be totally focused on every change taking place in yours. Or not.

I can remember eagerly looking forward to being 18, to being an adult whom others would respect. At 28 I still felt like I was 18. At 38 I was certain it's only been a couple years since I graduated from high school hasn't it?

I was astounded at my 20-year high school reunion. The in-crowd you know who I'm talking about, the ones who were popular and admired because their parents were rich or their parents had important jobs and therefore they were way too important to be seen with the rest of us, far too important to sit near us at lunch, and heaven forbid if they chose to speak to us. Those people had had an opportunity to live in the real world for 20 years. No one else cared what their mommy and daddy did. They had to stand up and show who they themselves were.

Life didn't treat them with kid gloves any more than it has the rest of us. They experienced disappointment, failure and loss. They survived just like the rest of us. And at that 20-year reunion they were glad to see familiar faces from so long ago, no matter what crowd you once belonged to. Former cool kids and rich kids were hugging book nerds; former jocks were happily greeting former science freaks. And as a particular song started, one gave an impromptu break-dance performance which had all of us cheering, though I imagine he felt the impact on his joints in the following days.

So what's to be afraid of? Your looks will change? Look back to your freshman yearbook picture. Would you really prefer to look like that all your life? Please! Acne, buck teeth, bad hair styles. Do you remember growing pains when your legs and arms ached because they were busy stretching into the person you've become? Puberty was no day at the beach.

Growing old is a process that starts from the moment we're born. Some of it's painful and awkward. Most of us have times in our life when we feel like an ugly duckling. If we're lucky,

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