Aging: Am I still pretty?

Here at Bon Lemon, we say, "when life gives you lemons...blog about something pretty." We have dedicated our blog to all things pretty. (Which might not always be what you expected.)

Lately, I have been thinking about aging. I am 30. My boyfriend, 6 Par Farmer (who, apparently, we may have to rename 8 Par Farmer after a few not-so-good rounds. oopsie. :), is 42. My grandmothers are in their eighties. My parents in their late fifties. My friends range from 6-96. I have always found age to be a very relative thing in terms of maturity and beauty.

Women really get the short end of the aging stick. Men are praised for becoming sophisticated and distinguished looking. Women are praised, only if, they seem to escape aging altogether. (Think Demi Moore.) If you have been blessed with the genes to be a woman that looks like a girl, we will praise you. Otherwise, um, no.

I might be the only one, but I find 20 year olds, usually, quite boring to look at. There, I said it. You can not distinguish a vibrant soul from a beige one, because they are all wrapped in the same airbrushed package. It takes some weather to wear off all that shiny. What's pretty about shiny? It's kind of like looking at the sun; sounds nice, but you can't really see anything.

My forty something friends think I don't know the first thing about aging. They think I haven't even begun to realize what it is like to be double crossed by your face. Or betrayed by your thighs. Who knows when you really start to feel old. It is probably relative. All I know is, I think women in their 40's or 70's are much more interesting to look at than women in their 20's.

I don't want to sound like a feminist hippie. I don't think it is pretty to stop brushing your hair, forego exercise, or forget to put on fabulous accessories (perfect at every age :). I think women become more interesting as they age, because it takes work. It is the same reason we are more impressed by self-made millionaires than heiress billionaires. We are more impressed by Kim Cattrall's rockin' bod than Jessica Alba's genetically perfect butt. Aging takes work. And aging gracefully is most definitely pretty.

The definition of pretty, "pleasing or attractive in a graceful or delicate way," is summed up by Vanessa Redgrave. At 73, she is one of the most beautiful women I have seen recently.

So yes. You are still pretty.