Is it Time to Let Myself Go Yet?

Now that I'm 45, I feel like it might be time to let myself go already. To let the gray hair seep back into my hairline. To let my eyebrows grow back into their glorious unibrow. To chuck the lipstick in favor of Chapstick.

But then I get my latest People magazine, and I marvel at the 55-year-old actresses, who look twenty years younger. I used to aspire to aging gracefully. But nowadays celebrities don't even age at all past 35. Who knows how much work it is to look 35 when you're 55? I'm already tired of putting in the effort.

There's no reason to craft this façade of eternal youth. I'm married with two kids. The last time I met a handsome stranger's gaze in a bar, it was because it was kids eat free night. We both smiled ruefully at each other as our kids behaved badly.

I'm not sure why women chase the disappearing beauty of youth. There certainly aren't role models of older women readily available in the movies. Women go from nymph to hag with no stopping-point in between.

But I say bring on the hag-dom! I will brew pots of herbal tea. I will let my gray hair curl in wicked waves. I will wear caftans and orthopedic shoes.

Nina Snyder is the author of ABCS OF BALLS and the designer of the HOT PINK ORCHARD JOURNAL. Follow her on Twitter @nsnyder_writer.