Am I withering away?

"You ready to get out of here?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. It was a wonderful evening in June. We were finally celebrating my birthday. I had just turned 45 and was loving life.

As we walked from the restaurant to the car, hand in hand, he said, "well, you're getting older, and women don't age as well as men. We get better as we age, and women not as much."

If he could see the little devil in my mind thinking of the many ways I could push him into oncoming traffic or give him a swift yet severe blow to the head, he would appreciate age. The experiences that came with age taught me violence is not the way to handle things and is keeping him alive right now.

I stop walking to ask why he would make such a general statement. Has he met everyone man or woman over the age of 45? He has not… So he doesn't know this to be 100% true. He replied, "well, it's just my experience with older women."

"Dude! You're only three years younger than I," I said.

As I get older, I realize he's not the only man with a preconceived notion of how women age. We're told that women become ancient, withering, bitter, dried-up beings.

Really?

I have also had conversations with other men, friends, and relatives who feel the same. Comments such as "you're too old to wear that, or wow, you look good for your age."

People who know me know I am ready to say, "challenge accepted!" when such generalized statements are made.

What about you? Have you had conversations with male or female friends about how we age? Do we get older and wither away or simply age and enjoy life without worrying about what others think?