I’d like to go back a generation or two to the day of Aunt Bee.  Who doesn’t have a picture of the cheery, plump, homemaker pop into his head upon hearing the name “Aunt Bee”? She was content to make a comfortable home for Andy and Opie or anyone who crossed their porch. Meals were always enjoyed around the table, respect was always present, and discipline was taught and expected.

But beyond her pleasing personality, think of her image.  Frances Bavier was 58 when she began portraying Aunt Bee.  I’m four years away from that age.  Why can’t we go back to a day when it was not only okay but expected that by the time a woman was 58 she may have lost her slim waistline?  Why can’t we go back to a day when middle age came with wrinkles and a sagging jawline and reading glasses?  Why can’t we go back to a time when growing old put a person into a position of respect?

But it wasn’t just Aunt Bee.  Do you remember “The Golden Girls”?  Aside from Estelle Getty who was made up to look like a much older woman, the other three actresses that made up the delightful roommates were looking their actual ages.  As I watch old reruns, I think they were beautiful ladies.  But they were allowed to look and act middle-aged.  Bea Arthur and Betty White were both 63 when the show began.  Rue McClanahan was 51.  They were active, vital women, but they didn’t look like teenagers.

Contrast that with today’s standards.  Two actresses near the age of Ms. Arthur and Ms. White are Jaclyn Smith and Priscilla Presley who are both 64.  You can probably name a hundred more 50- to 60-year-old celebrities who work really hard to appear to be decades younger.  Are you kidding me?  Why are they supposed to be what 64 looks like now? 

So many of the celebrities that are lifted up as the examples of what we should be or look like have used their vast fortunes to lift up their faces, eyes, and bodies.  Not only is it a shame for them to have to carve up their bodies that way, (or in some cases to turn themselves into caricatures of themselves), but then they present that false image as what the rest of us should look like.

Why?  Why can’t we be allowed to grow old and have a changed body and face be a part of that?  Why can’t we still respect a talented actress who happens to look older and plays older parts now?  Why should they feel the need to find the fountain of youth to be able to still work in their field?

I believe in living a healthy lifestyle that includes clean living, eating smart, and exercising.  But I also am tired of feeling like I need to try to look like I am 35.  I’m not.  The reality is, our bodies change through the years.  Vision changes, things sag, hair greys, wrinkles set in, and we look older.  So, let me embrace that.

Stop filling the magazines, infomercials and drugstore shelves with lotions and potions and creams that promise to turn back the hands of time.  Stop tempting us to spend thousands of dollars to try to mask the inevitable.  I’ve lived 54 years.  Lots of experiences, both good and bad, have come with those years.  I’m 54 and proud of it.  Let me be content to be Bee.