Purple Thong

There's a woman at the gym who wears a purple thong --- not under her black leggings, but over them. Twice she's been on the treadmill in front of me, and it's hard not to spend at least part of my work out marveling at the bright outer-underwear. She's probably in her mid-60's, with a full head of well-groomed short white hair and tastefully applied makeup. I'm modest and definitely not inclined to wear a purple thong to the gym, but I admire her for it. To me, it expresses that she feels good in her skin, and still sexy too. Right on sister!

As the baby-boomers age, I'm hearing the term "aging gracefully" thrown around an awful lot. I'm taking note as I watch my grandparents and friends' grandparents move through different stages of old age. I am acquainted with a lot of proud and accomplished elders. I think of "aging gracefully" whenever I see the purple adorned woman at the gym. Thong-wearing is not something I aspire to, but being confident in my own skin sure is.

At the pool today (I'm taking a short vacation in Florida), there were some lovely older women in the chaise lounges next to me. One had on a hot pink suit, and the other a cute blue and white number. The suits didn't have skirts or shorts to go with them. They were just normal one-pieces. No fake boobs or plumped lips or pulled tight faces, these women were wrinkly and tan. But they looked good.

In some of my prevoius visits to Florida, I've been weirded out, being surrounded by a single age cohort - the over-sixty crowd. It makes me think about bodily ailments, and death. But this time, I'm seeing something a little different. I'm seeing people who are comfortable with who they are, and for the first time ever, I'm just a little bit envious.