The Power Woman Years

Rock climbing, snowboarding, long-boarding, road cycling.  It seems like no matter what activity I’m doing the majority of the women around me are at least 30 years younger than I am.  Limber, loose, lean and lithe they scramble, fly, glide and pedal with an ease and energy I can only dream of.  Yet, as I watch them going through the machinations of being 20 something I feel nothing but joy for the life I have grown into as a 54 year old, bodacious woman.

I’m surprised to hear myself say that, as I have frequently watched them perform their feats of daring-do and thought ‘Ah, to be young again.’.  But, the reality is, despite my dimples, sags and bags, my creaks, strains and pains I’m happy in my skin, regardless of how loosely it currently fits.  Gone is the constant angst of whether or not I’m wearing whats ‘In’, saying the right things, included by the cool crowd.  I’m OK with me.  I’m OK wearing my 2 year old blouse because I feel pretty when I put it on.  I speak my heart with confidence, no longer fearful of expressing my opinion, afraid that people won’t like me.  Now, the women I am blessed to call friends like me just the way I am.  They support me and my dreams, in good times and bad, as I do them.  No... being young holds no lure for me.

As women, we too frequently view our youth as a one shot deal.  Once it’s gone life is over.  Regardless of the Women’s Revolution we continue to define ourselves in terms of our ability to ‘catch’ a man, and have children, continuing the existence of all mankind.  As Women in our Power Years ( 45+ ) we are the first generation of women to reach this amazing milestone and still be young enough to have a whole second life ahead of us.  This is great news if you are open to change.  It provides a challenge if you don’t.  Because we are a First Generation we have no role models, no rules, very little idea of how limitless our options are because we are still living by the old norm. But, one thing is certain.  If you are open to change and brave enough to step outside your comfort zone the party is definitely not over.   And, for many of us, it’s only just beginning.

Research shows that when women enter the golden years of menopause some physiological magic takes place that makes us open to change. Big change.  It’s a window of opportunity where our fears  are naturally lessened, our curiosity heightened, our dreams and desires uniquely fueled to jettison us into this next, most powerful time.  A Time For Us.  A time that we get to be first.   

I admit as I came to the point that I realized I wouldn’t have more children, that I was loosing the Battle of the Sag I mourned the loss of my youthful energy and tight skin.  Because, up until that point they were my defining features, whether I recognized it or not.  The reality was that no matter how sad I was the end result was inevitable.  I couldn’t go back.  Perched on this precipice of change, I had a choice.  I could move  forward with hope, grace and excitement, like a wide eyed child on Christmas morning.  Or, I could mourn my loss as though there was no life ahead, curling in on myself and the new world ahead of me, clinging to the past, seeing nothing in my future but death.  When presented with options like these I, for one,  will always choose hope.

Life doesn’t have to become sedentary, routine and gray just because we have passed the point of sexual prowess and youthful exuberance.  Women in their 50’s and beyond are testing new boundaries every day. In 2007, Colleen Shields’, age 53, was the oldest woman to swim across Lake Ontario, a record she hopes to break this August at the age of 60.  In May 2012, Tamae Watanabe, a 73 year old Japanese  woman, set the record as the oldest woman to summit Mt. Everest. The inspiring Gladys Burrill, age 92, recently became the oldest woman to complete The Honolulu Marathon.  Every day women transition into this powerful phase of life and choose to test their physical capabilities instead of giving in to age, many of these same women having been somewhat sedentary in their younger years..

It sounds cliche, but it’s not over until it’s over.  Look around you at the women who are making a difference, who are inspiring women both young and old to step into their Power Woman status.  Honor their wrinkles of experience by looking past the obvious to what they are bringing to the table, a new definition of what it means to be a woman in her prime.  These women are you.  They are me.  They are the voices and actions of women of knowledge, courage, strength and self confidence.  They are living a life of authenticity, the pioneers, leading the way, showing us the beauty, and benefits of the best years of our second life.