Growing old disgracefully (win a copy of Virginia Ironside's new book)

My bunions were caused by wearing heels far too high in my (now long gone youth. (actually I think they are more foot deformations )

(still trying for the sympathy there)

If you were forced to wear high heels against your wishes then you have my sympathy.

Well, I am quite glad I have grown up. I no longer worry what other people think of me,with the exception that I wouldn't want to embarrass my children and grandchildren by behaving disgracefully.
I'm with j07, I hope I never become depressed, and stay fit enough to do the things I want to do.
Older people tend to give things up because they can't do them any more, not because they don't want to.

Hilda - meanie!!!

grace until very recently no back problems (and I don't think this is back) and I am comfortable in my very high heels. I think it is because I have always worn them because a physio once told me that with my scoliosis and different leg lengths they would help me! I haven't asked anyone since because I liked that answer and don't want a different one .

I mix with people my age, older and younger. As they say, variety is the spice of life.

Is scoliosis getting a hump back? I'm getting one of those.

Stand up straight! Shoulders back! Stomach in!

Book an apartment for a month in Spain and then announce decampment to the family on facebook - that that's where you'll be for the month of February Cue husband startled face and scramble to book his own plane ticket!

I think scoliosis is more a sideways curve rather than just bent over. C or S shape. My sister has had scoliosis since birth and finds that she has one leg and one arm slightly different length which requires tailoring on trousers and jackets.

gracesmum ah but those high heels do something for you don't they ? even though I can't wear very high heels I do have a pair of very high ones DD bought me (she must have been a wee bit tipsy)and it does me good to get them out and just "look" at them.
I do mix with younger people a lot due to DDs friends,I don't relish being like my nana and having my hair in a tight bun I prefer my mop just clipped up in a very "not to-nite Josephine" look,I love my jeans and t-shirts when playing with DGS5 and enjoy DGD2 when she try's to do her face with make-up she has found in my bathroom drawer.All in all I don't feel any differant to when I had DGS1 22 yrs ago just having to use "Nice & Easy" more often.
j07 keep trying sweetie you will get there in the end x

Jings I was born with a lateral curvature of the spine - Scoliosis. The pelvis is misaligned and one leg is shorter than the other. With the passage ot time hip joints wear out...hence both hip replacements and a knee that needs replacing. The condition causes chronic aches and pains in the supporting muscles and ligaments. In other words, it's a s****y nuisance.

MOVE> Ilove my high heels 3 to 4 inches . Not all the time mind.

Notwithstanding , I do tend to book our holidays about 2 to 3 months ahead as that is when the cheaper airline tickets are on sale .

Then when they have gone , they have gone and dearer ones are on sale .

I am sure many of you have read the list below, but it was written by a 90 year old lady in Cleveland, USA and I copied it out and pasted it in front of my diary, just to remind myself how lucky I am (particularly after watching several Holocaust memorial programmes at the weekend!), whatever age or however disgracefully behaved I want to be!

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short – enjoy it..
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. Save for retirement starting with your first pay check.
9. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
10. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
11. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
12. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
13. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it...
14 Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
15. Get rid of anything that isn't useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.
16. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
17. It's never too late to be happy. But it’s all up to you and no one else.
18. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
19. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
20. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
21. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
22. The most important sex organ is the brain.
23. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
24. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
25. Always choose life.
26. Forgive but don’t forget.
27. What other people think of you is none of your business.
28. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
30. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does..
31. Believe in miracles.
32. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
33. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
34. Your children get only one childhood.
35. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
36. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
37. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
38. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have not what you need.
39. The best is yet to come...
40. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
41. Yield.
42. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

AMEN!!! and I wish someone had given me the list when I was twenty but hey, better late than never as this lady would say!!!

Loads and loads and loads of sympathy j07 Feel better now?

Scoliosis and leg length cause me no problems at all so I take no notice when medics notice them. I had polio when I was 7 and am very happy to have got away with it with only these things to live with.

But Fond would you have taken any notice when you were younger? Yes seen it before but always worth re-reading.

42 goes at winning the book Fondasharing? That's not fair!! You are meant to give your own one!

What on earth is wrong with the expression "Young at heart"? (Apart from the ghastly song?) How else can I put it - young in mind (sounds predatory) young in spirit (it's the gin talking) young in outlook - OK but not catchy, young for your age - sounds immature......heigh ho I'll keep trying but I know what I mean.

Oh right harrigran. Mine is developing with age time. My granny had one.

oh gosh Gracesmum I love Young at Heart expression, like the song too.

I also like Frank Sinatra "The best is yet to come" in lots ways it has been true for OH AND me as we have had such lovely weekends and holidays away in last 10 years since kids flew the nest.

Very important to keep interested in life and keep trying different activites we love the folk dancing we joined nearly year ago.
Must keep active and always make effort with appearances!
So important to have good hair cut and make effort with grooming, nails, make up etc. apart from obvious looking good makes you feel so much better.
Remember life is not a rehearsal, and life each day to the full.
Try to let go of bitter memories in the past so they do not spoil your present and future.
Try not to judge others we all have hidden pressures or things to fact others may not be aware of.

Mine's a Dowager's Hump! And it says here that "dignified elderly women" get it. #soundslikeme

Fonda you'd need to be a saint to keep up with that lot!

Moved it's not your sympathy I want! It's Virginia's! #shestheonewiththebooks

Apologies to all. I did not take notice of the posting and the winning of the book for good ideas........

I just think that having a list enables me to remember "to enjoy every day" - it also reminds me to continue being outrageous whenever I feel like it (as long as it harms no-one else)!

Perhaps my Grandma was right.......she did not go a day without her corset, she used to say she did not feel up to coping with the world without it on and she wore it till the day she died.

It says the word 'dowager' refers to a 'dignified elderly woman' jingl! I suppose any common or garden woman (or man) could develop one. #delusions of grandeur

Nothing like a good pair of "stays " . Laugh