If No One's Looking, Do We Have to Try as Hard?
And Other Ponderings of Women Over Fifty
by
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Introduction
Age is just a number.
You’re only as old as you feel.
We’re not getting older, we’re getting better.
Age is a state of mind.
It’s better than the alternative.
Most of us over fifty have heard these platitudes offered up by friends trying to make us feel better about aging. I don’t know about you, but they don’t really work for me. I know how old I am and how society views that number. I recently read that people in my age bracket are now called near old. I’d like to offer my thanks to the youngster who coined that term. The point is, whatever we’re called, we’re not young any more.
When I was young, it seemed the possibilities were endless. After all, I had my whole life ahead of me. But a few years ago while gazing at the Gulf of Mexico, a glaring reality hit me: most of my life was behind me. This new revelation changed my perspective. I started to ask myself a number of questions: Am I doing what I want to do for the rest of my life? If not, what do I want to do? Am I brave enough to try something new? Why do I feel the need to? Should I take on more or start cutting back? Are there things I want to try that I’ve never done or used to do, and for some reason, stopped? Am I overreacting about this age thing?
As I pondered all this over the last few years, I asked other women if they felt the same way. When I began to informally talk to friends, I found my feelings were very common among women my age. I also found that women like to talk about this subject. So, I conducted an online survey, interviews, and conversations with a lot of women. The research is not scientific, but it is interesting and provides some insight into how women over fifty view the world and their place in it.
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About the Book
By the time women reach their fifties, they’ve seen a lot of life. Many say it’s the best time of their lives, filled with inner peace and contentment. For some, it’s a jarring realization that their past is longer than their future. This leads them to think differently about the time they have left and what they want to do with it.
In If No One’s Looking, Do We Have to Try as Hard?, author Mary Hemlepp provides a snapshot of how some women over fifty think, what they look forward to, what advice they’d give to younger women, and how happy they are at this stage of life. It also includes life stories of women who’ve blazed trails, overcome adversity, and raised the bar. She explores issues relating to female health and fitness, relationships, finance, work life, and well-being.
Based on interviews and informal discussions with hundreds of women, If No One’s Looking, Do We Have to Try as Hard? communicates that getting older doesn’t have to slow women down. Women over fifty are vibrant, busy women who enjoy life to the fullest.
About the Author
Mary Hemlepp is a fifty-something public relations consultant and an avid reader. Hemlepp has an adult son and lives in Lexington, Kentucky, with her husband, Terry.