by Dossie M Terrell

Created on: March 02, 2010   Last Updated: May 29, 2012

It is great to reflect once in awhile, but as people age they tend to spend more time doing it. One of the concepts that plays on the mind as we age is age appropriateness. What is age suitability and why is it those who find themselves past the last bloom of spring suddenly become arbiters of what constitutes age appropriateness? How does one reconcile the desire to accomplish a certain thing or take a certain action with their chronological age? Should there be an age adjustment factor where one is allowed to have their reality or mind adjusted to what is happening in society at large? Growing old does not necessarily mean you should put your life and the things you enjoy on hold. Looking back, have you ever tried to define and personalize your own style?  Consider the following in that attempt.

Redefine and personalize age appropriate activities

If you type “age appropriate” on Google, you will get an assortment of categories about what comprises age appropriate actions, ranging from movies and books to social behavior and clothing. From the minute you were born to the day you die, there are plans in place to place you into your small box that is replete with carefully orchestrated “must dos and don'ts” or constraint dressed in prettified wrappings.

As you age, you may note the activities that always brought you enjoyment suddenly become more proscribed. Perhaps, you cannot laugh as loud as you did in your 20s or 30s, because suddenly it is not age appropriate to do so. What are you to do about the short red skirt that shows off your shapely legs or the brown plaid pants that always make you look 10 pounds lighter? Do you go out and purchase a more somber wardrobe in order to satisfy the clothes arbiters? The decision will be up to you. Remember, it is your life and as long as what you are doing is legal, you do not care that you may look a little foolish, or you have a reason for doing what you are doing, why sweat it.

Determine and personalize age appropriateness for you

As you age, you may notice those in your age group are often your biggest critics; especially, if these detractors have not exercised regularly or walked the trails routinely over the years. Recently, a conversation was overheard by two rather rotund 50ish-something women who commented about the high-heeled boots one of their smaller contemporaries sported. One snorted contemptuously,

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