Getting old is a hoot

Getting Old Is a Hoot – and Here’s Why That’s a Good Thing

“They say getting older isn’t for sissies. I say it’s for the wisecrackers, the cookie-snatchers, and the ones who aren’t afraid to laugh when their knees pop louder than their cereal.” ~joe miller~

Why shouldn’t it be?

Yes, there are wrinkles. Yes, there’s gray hair (if you’re lucky enough to still have hair). And yes, the teeth might come out before bedtime. But aging, in all its creaky, curious, and sometimes comical glory, can be a hoot. . .if we let it.

One of the definitions of hoot is:
“someone or something amusing.”

So, I ask: Why not let that “someone” be you?

Getting older doesn’t have to mean fading quietly into the wallpaper. It doesn’t have to mean becoming less vibrant, less opinionated, or less fun. In fact, it might just be the perfect time to get louder, bolder, and a little more delightfully mischievous. You’ve earned it.

That’s the spirit behind the beloved poem, Warning, by Jenny Joseph, which begins:

“When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me…”

That poem gave rise to an entire movement. . . the Red Hat Society. . . and more than that, it gave voice to a generation of women who were tired of blending in and ready to stand out, even if only with a wink and a chuckle.

Here’s the truth that poem nudges us toward: we get to choose how we age.
We can grow bitter or we can grow brighter. We can shrink back or lean in with a twinkle in our eye. We can play it safe or we can decide that life is still worth dancing with even if the music’s (and us) slowed down a bit.

And if you need one more reason to laugh a little louder, chew a little slower, or wink at a stranger from across the grocery aisle, here it is:

If you’ve reached 80 years old, you’ve outlived about 96–98% of the world’s population.
If that’s not a hoot, I don’t know what is.

For me at eighty two, life is a hoot because I’ve seen enough to know what matters and enough to laugh at what doesn’t. I’ve made peace with my quirks, my aches, and my unmatched socks. And when I forget why I came into the room? I just go get a cookie and figure that was probably the reason.

So here’s your invitation:
Make your life a hoot.
Dress how you want. Speak up. Take naps. Laugh often. Say yes when it makes no sense and no when it feels right. You've got stories to tell and joy to stir up.

And when in doubt?

Wear Purple.

Old age is when you finally know the punchline... and you are the punchline. That’s the beauty of it.