I’m wondering if it would be useful for me to write a book of sorts on how to grow older with grace and aplomb (neither of which I have simultaneously for very long at any one time).

I remember both my parents telling me at various times in my adult life that they felt like a teenager. My dad still beats the pants of many people on the tennis courts at the young age of 77 and my mom walks her Great Pyrenees on a regular basis along the road that meanders through the hill country estates where they live. I have an aunt and uncle who hiked to the top of Enchanted Rock with David and I (at 79 and 81 respectively) another aunt who still rides, breeds and boards horses (just turned 81) and another uncle who is looking for his next career after a long successful career as an estate attorney (he’s 71). All this to say I sure have it in my genes to live long and prosper.

But as Betty Davis said, “getting old ain’t for sissies”. Especially American sissies. Especially Texas women sissies. And most especially Austin, Texas women who are getting older. I haven’t looked at the stats for older women in Austin but I suspect that we have a few 100 prides of cougars in various locations throughout the city. Very gorgeous women (and men too).

I met with one such woman today for coffee to brainstorm about being her manager/producer/assistant for a television show she is considering. I will keep this person’s identity under wraps until she is ready to make this whole thing public but let me say that she is in her mid-40’s, has eyes the color of amber and wears no less than 2 inch heels at any one time (can run up and down hills effortlessly in them and not break a sweat). She is even more beautiful inside than outside which may be hard for some people to see through to because of her outside beauty.

But I digress (I really hope someone puts that quote on my gravestone)…What does all this have to do with getting older with grace and aplomb? Well, for me it is about reconciling being a woman with energy and enthusiasm of a teenager and wanting to be attractive and sensual AND not getting so caught up in the outside trappings that I totally get lost from the connection with a higher power.

Than I stumble upon an opportunity for my higher power to humble me. I must have signed up for this because this seems to happen quite frequently for me.

Today I tried a little FB gadget to see what celebrity I look like. Well, as you may have noticed, this is not posted for all to see. Do you want to know why? I used the photo from my profile photo that Randal Ford took and chose a sequence of photos for the celebrity look alikes that fanned out to the one I most look alike. The good news is that it chose the one I most looked like was Jennifer Connelly. Not sure how it got to that, but okay. There were even a couple of nice surprises along the way to Jennifer (like Scarlett Johansen God Bless her) but the one that it started out with…..

The one that said less than 35% chance of me looking alike….

Was Sir John Gielgud….

OH MY GAWD!!!!!!

So, okay. Lesson #1555 for my book on getting older with grace and aplomb: DO NOT COMPARE YOURSELF TO ANYONE and most certainly DO NOT SEE WHAT CELEBRITY YOU LOOK LIKE. Repeat as necessary.

Now I’m going to go feel good in my own skin and love on my husband! I know he doesn’t think I look like Sir John!