“Old age is not a disease — it is strength and survivorship, triumph over all kinds of vicissitudes and disappointments, trials and illnesses.”

– Maggie Kuhn

I’m not worried about growing old.  After all, my mother always told me that “middle-aged” was five years older that she is — and she will soon be 88 years old.  I’m not even close!  It amazes me when I think back to my own childhood and remember the adults being astonished when someone reached the ripe old age of 80.  With all we have learned about wellness and good diet, I expect to do 80 standing on my head — or at least able to still walk the stairs instead of taking the elevator.

I remember when Maggie Kuhn formed her organization, the Gray Panthers, as a way of raising people’s awareness to the fact that 70 was no longer old.  The idea was radical in its time, and now we see people in their 70’s working and continuing to lead active lifestyles — lifestyles that often include caring for their own elderly parents, now in their 90’s.  It begs the question:  How long can we expect to live?

Yesterday on Facebook, I enjoyed reading exchanges among some women about one of them officially becoming “a crone.”  Back in my childhood, a crone was a haggard old woman in fairy tales, and she was not painted as a welcome thing to become.  Times certainly have changed; and now women embrace the post-menopausal years as another stage of life — one that is filled with vitality, awareness, and wisdom.  That’s what Maggie Kuhn was talking about, isn’t it?  She was a visionary in her time, and when she spoke of strength and survivorship and triumph, I think she was identifying the experiences that create the wisdom we crones hope to keep alive as we stretch out our years on planet earth.

We are the ones who have lived through cycles and changes and are able to bring perspective to the challenges people face.  Those who have experienced similar challenges have a unique view to express in the context of new ones; and just as in the old tribal societies, the female elders — the crones — are once again being seen as a source of wisdom and guidance that can benefit people of all ages.  I am excited about being alive in these changing times.  I welcome the honor of taking my spot as an elder and feeling like an asset rather than a liability as I age.

It will be the elders, the wise ones, the crones who will carry the vision that connects the past with the present and looks into a future with unlimited potential.  Old age is not a disease.  Old age is a badge of honor and experience, earned through trial and triumph and carrying perspective that one simply cannot gain in thirty or forty years.  I welcome becoming older, but I will resist growing old.  I’m not worried, though; because, at last calculation, middle-aged is now 92.