Last night, as I was having dinner with some friends, we started talking about the process of getting older. Go figure! We may have been in our 60s, but, we didn’t look over 60 – and we certainly didn’t feel over 60.

Halfway through a particularly risqué conversation about an online site that I won’t mention by name, one of the ladies mentioned how “disgracefully” we were behaving. She said it with a smile and a twinkle in her eye, so, I know that she was joking. But, her comment made me think.

Are You Aging Disgracefully? Gracefully? Some Other Way?

Why is it that we feel like we need to moderate our behaviour once we reach a certain age? Is it really that silly to giggle like a little girl when you’re 60 year’s old? The young men at the table across from us didn’t seem to mind. Regardless of whether they were smiling with us or at us, they were certainly enjoying the show.

In any case, I raised this question with the group and asked them if they felt that women our age are expected to “age gracefully.” Then, I asked them to describe how they felt that they were aging, using an “ly” word to replace “gracefully.”

I said that I was aging passionately, curiously, creatively and magnificently. Other adjectives that the women at the table used were unabashedly, widely, sexily and incredibly.

Not a single person mentioned gracefully.

Our table of women was definitely not slipping into the sunset quietly and politely.

I’m curious what you think about this. Please join the conversation by answering the following questions.

Which -ly word best describes you now that you are in your 50s, 60s, or 70s? It’s ok by the way if you do want to age gracefully. There’s nothing wrong with this at all! What do you think? How would you complete the sentence, “I am aging ________________ly!”