Joining John Holton’s Writer’s Workshop again this week. Thanks for the opportunity, John!
Prompts:
Write a post based on the word rules.
Write a post in exactly 9 sentences.
When you grocery shop, do you prefer “name” (i.e. national) brands or “store” (or generic) brands? Or a combination of the two? Why?
Tell us about something you learned in October.
If you could spend a year living in a fictional world, which one would it be, and what would you do while you were there?
Do you think you would be a good leader of your country (e.g. president, prime minister etc.)? Why or why not?
RULES? WHAT RULES?! 👵🚫👎 #WritersWorkshop ✍️ #dogladysden#AgeIsJustANumber#RuleBreaker #IDontFollowTheRules
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AGEING STEROTYPES
What is an old person supposed to look like? According to conventional “wisdom” (🙄), they should have short hair, wear conservative clothes and sensible shoes. And no large hoop earrings for the women!
Old people supposedly eat dinner at 4 pm and are in bed by 9 pm, up at or before dawn the next morning.
Who made up these stupid rules?!
The funny part is, I see people that look and act that way, but they’re a lot younger than I am! Why do you suppose some people age more or less gracefully than others? Apart from health issues, I think it mostly has to do with attitude and joie de vivre (joy of life).
Or possibly, some of us never grew up?
Closing in on my 70th birthday (end of January), I wonder if I ever will. 😆 My once waist-length hair is shorter now, because it’s thinner than it used to be. Still past my shoulders, though! The hoop earrings are ever-present, as is the Boho wardrobe. No conservative clothes or saddle shoes for me!
Still Bohemian after all these years.
Rules of style are silly and meant to be broken. We should all embrace our individuality!
Some fabulous examples:
Ilona Royce Smithkin (March 27, 1920–August 1, 2021) was a Polish-born American artist, author, model, and performer.
This senior fashion bible brings together five dapper gents. By Ari Seth Cohen & Lina Plioplyte. Read the full feature on NOWNESS.
As for going to bed at 9pm – not in my world! The night is just getting started.
To view all participants’ entries, and/or join the workshop, visit John: [right-click to open in new tab]
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Dog Mom and (retired) Canine Innkeeper in suburban Toronto, Canada, known as The Doglady. Former corporate workaholic. Writer, photographer, digital creator. Animal lover, music fanatic, inveterate traveller. Eternal hippie/rockchick. History, literature and cinema buff. Hockey and soccer fan. Dedicated night owl. German/Canadian binational, multilingual. Let me entertain you!
31 thoughts on “RULES? WHAT RULES?! 👵🚫👎 | #WritersWorkshop ✍️ #Opinion”
Well I definitely feel like I’m getting old…my knees ache most of the time, I need more sleep than when I was in my 20s (and somehow get less due to aging bladder, my sweetie’s sleep issues and more) but I don’t mind. I don’t feel like I need to be a cool college lad anymore, have heard maybe 10 songs by new artists I like this decade, will not wear pyjamas and slippers when out, and actually think being closer to 60 than 50 ain’t bad.
We all feel those aches and pains that go with ageing bodies, but I think it’s the mindset that counts. 🙂 As for the pyjamas and slippers, what’s up with that? 🤔 Younger generations have no sense of style. (I’m practicing reverse age discrimination here. 😆) I can think of more than 10 songs I like this decade, but you won’t find any of them on the pop charts. Previous generations seemed to age more rapidly. Now, 70 is the new 50, 60 is the new 40 etc., etc. We’re good! 😎
I’m with ya on this, DEBBIE!
I’ve often been known to say and write, “You be YOU, so somebody else doesn’t have to!”
I’ve been going my own way since about 1974 (when I was 14). A couple of years prior, high-top Converse sneakers were all the rage with boys my age. I wanted a pair so badly that I even dreamed about them, but my parents couldn’t afford to buy them for me. I may be romanticizing this a bit, but I suspect that not being able to wear “the cool shoes” when I was so young, prepared me for becoming the maverick I later did. I was so “out-of-step” with the In Crowd that I simply learned to embrace it and follow my own inner calling in ALL things.
You may have a point about the shoes, Stephen. 😀 From that, you developed your own style. It’s more fun to be maverick, anyway. Thanks for stopping in!
Hmm – I can read your reply via e-mail but it’s not here, so I’ll leave another comment. Yes, Baby Boomers rule because we worked our butts off and took responsibility for ourselves and our work … it’s not that way now and it just burns me. “Elderly” is not some nice, tidy word to use universally once you hit 65 – are you kidding me? I think young, try to keep up on trends via Twitter, but I do admit I don’t know a lot of the newer music, but what I hear blaring out of car windows on hot Summer days/evenings, is not to my liking. I’m no fan of native boy Eminem though people think he is great – just my opinion. I am used to getting up early and I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning a few times this Summer when we had tornado warnings and was amazed I didn’t fall asleep. 🙂
That’s odd. I can see the reply. Oh well… Yes, we did have a strong work ethic. Society has changed a lot and not necessarily for the better. 😕 A lot of newer music is crap, in my opinion, but there is good stuff too – it’s harder to find, though. Eminem doesn’t do much for me either. 😆 I think Bob Seger is Michigan’s best.
Debbie, I like your night owl image … very cute. I am not a night owl, but I get up early every day, so I guess that makes me elderly-acting. In my 50-year working life, I got up at 5:00 a.m., even when I worked from home, but that was so I could walk before I started to work (I started at 11:30). I still get up early these days. I took the bus for decades, so in the Winter, I shoveled snow first before leaving the house and in the Summer, I watered the whole garden before leaving, so during those seasons I got up at 4:00 a.m. Late for me is 11:00 p.m., except when I used to hang out with friends, then it was later. When I was taking journalism classes as part of my Mass Communications studies, we learned never to use the word “elderly” for anyone younger than 80 years of age. That made sense to me then and it makes sense to me now. BUT, I hear reporters and/or “news readers” giving stories about elderly people in their 60s. Okay, that ticks me off and so I Googled to find just what age now is considered “elderly” and it is 65. I am 68 and do not feel elderly.
Being a morning person doesn’t necessarily make you elderly. Different strokes is all 🙂 I was always running late to work and had a hard time getting up at 6:30. Good thing I was in management and didn’t have to punch a clock. I made up for it by working overtime most days and on weekends. Glad I got out of that rat race! It’s a young person’s world now and we are subject to much age discrimination. A friend of mine (10 years older than me) once said “old age is 20 more years than you are now”. 😁 Our generation thinks and acts much younger than previous ones. Baby Boomers are the coolest generation! 😎
We Baby Boomers have a head on our shoulders and a mind of our own … I hate to use the phrase “sheeple” as I sound like a Twitter/X troll, but it is true. Too many people today do not think independently, nor speak their mind and just go along with the rest of the crowd. That was fine when you were a teenager because God forbid you acted out of the ordinary amongst your peers and you’d be ostracized for it, but you have to grow up sometimes. “Adulting” is hard for them isn’t it?
People hesitate to speak their minds now, for fear of offending someone. When did society become so thin-skinned? That may be why younger generations don’t like us all that much. Most of us aren’t shy about voicing our opinions.😆
Okay, confession time for me. At 72, I have started to like ‘comfortable shoes’, but I dress much the same as I did when I was 30, which was always a little conservative. I don’t go to bed at 9pm, but I am rarely still awake by midnight these days. As for rules I agree with you, there should not be any rules for older people. Dress and act how they want, do whatever makes them happy! Best wishes, Pete.
Comfortable shoes don’t have to be ugly. 🙂 I wear orthotic flip flops in the summer and they still look nice. I’m always amazed that younger people have the temerity to suggest certain styles are “too old” for us. WTF do they know? 🙄😆 Absolutely, do and wear whatever makes you happy – and comfortable. Thanks, Pete!
Y’know, there are yet times Misty and I will be crossing some back of the complex area and I imagine someone yelling, “You kids get out of there!” Not as often as a couple years ago, but…
You aren’t that much older than I am. I’ll be 69 in March.
I remember Mom at my youngest brother’s wedding getting all pissed about my sisters-in-law wearing little black dresses. They were in their early 40’s and both of them were tall and slender. “They’re too old to wear those dresses!” Hey, if you can get away with it, you should, and if you can’t, go ahead anyway. The older I get, the younger 70 looks…
This is a great post and absolutely not are you that stereotype of “the little old lady.” You are the Queen of all things cool. I can’t even imagine you as that little old lady. – I’m pretty sure I came out of the womb flipping everybody off so I’m pretty much not a rule follower. Even speed limits are just suggestions unless there’s a cop nearby, right? Lol. And I too am a night owl. I get my best work done then. I do go to bed at a “normal” time but I don’t stay asleep. Two or 3 hours and I’m good to go so I just get up. I really don’t know how people can lay horizontally for 8 hours.
Thanks, Karen! I can’t imagine myself as a little old lady, either. 😆 And I love this: “…came out of the womb flipping everybody off” You go, girl! 😎 Speed limits are suggestions and I don’t remember the last time I had over 5 hours of sleep. Maybe as a teenager. I’ve never enjoyed going to bed, and am up until my eyes won’t stay open.
LOL. I will be 78 next Monday. Never had my hair longer than chin length. Never wore hoop earrings, but lots of dangly ones. Still do. I turned into a morning person in retirement. Eat my main meal at lunch. Never eat after 6. I hate seeing suggestions for what I should do or wear. MYOB. My life and body, my choices! Thanks for the post.
Happy Birthday in advance, Denise! 🎉 I bet dangly earrings are on the same “No-No” list as hoops. 😆 Not demure enough for us old folks. 🙄 Yes, MYOB is the perfect mantra. Thanks for reading. 🙂
I’ve never been much one for rules. I’m good with things that keep order and such, but not arbitrary rules regarding what others think I should be or do.
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31 thoughts on “RULES? WHAT RULES?! 👵🚫👎 | #WritersWorkshop ✍️ #Opinion”
Well I definitely feel like I’m getting old…my knees ache most of the time, I need more sleep than when I was in my 20s (and somehow get less due to aging bladder, my sweetie’s sleep issues and more) but I don’t mind. I don’t feel like I need to be a cool college lad anymore, have heard maybe 10 songs by new artists I like this decade, will not wear pyjamas and slippers when out, and actually think being closer to 60 than 50 ain’t bad.
We all feel those aches and pains that go with ageing bodies, but I think it’s the mindset that counts. 🙂 As for the pyjamas and slippers, what’s up with that? 🤔 Younger generations have no sense of style. (I’m practicing reverse age discrimination here. 😆) I can think of more than 10 songs I like this decade, but you won’t find any of them on the pop charts. Previous generations seemed to age more rapidly. Now, 70 is the new 50, 60 is the new 40 etc., etc. We’re good! 😎
I’m with you Deb. No rules on our bodies or choices. <3
For sure! And aren’t you glad you live here, rather than south of the border? 😉
Surely better here, but Toronto is not what it once was and it’s become a haven for many undesirables thanks to Turdeau. 🙁
I know! Whatever happened to “Toronto The Good”? Thankfully, it’s better here in the ‘burbs.
Right? <3
I ignore the rules of style too. I dress the way I want and have long hair about the same length as yours. Why not be yourself!
Good to know there are more of us “rebels” out there! 😀 Thanks, Eugi.
I’m with ya on this, DEBBIE!
I’ve often been known to say and write, “You be YOU, so somebody else doesn’t have to!”
I’ve been going my own way since about 1974 (when I was 14). A couple of years prior, high-top Converse sneakers were all the rage with boys my age. I wanted a pair so badly that I even dreamed about them, but my parents couldn’t afford to buy them for me. I may be romanticizing this a bit, but I suspect that not being able to wear “the cool shoes” when I was so young, prepared me for becoming the maverick I later did. I was so “out-of-step” with the In Crowd that I simply learned to embrace it and follow my own inner calling in ALL things.
~ D-FensDogG
You may have a point about the shoes, Stephen. 😀 From that, you developed your own style. It’s more fun to be maverick, anyway. Thanks for stopping in!
Hmm – I can read your reply via e-mail but it’s not here, so I’ll leave another comment. Yes, Baby Boomers rule because we worked our butts off and took responsibility for ourselves and our work … it’s not that way now and it just burns me. “Elderly” is not some nice, tidy word to use universally once you hit 65 – are you kidding me? I think young, try to keep up on trends via Twitter, but I do admit I don’t know a lot of the newer music, but what I hear blaring out of car windows on hot Summer days/evenings, is not to my liking. I’m no fan of native boy Eminem though people think he is great – just my opinion. I am used to getting up early and I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning a few times this Summer when we had tornado warnings and was amazed I didn’t fall asleep. 🙂
That’s odd. I can see the reply. Oh well… Yes, we did have a strong work ethic. Society has changed a lot and not necessarily for the better. 😕 A lot of newer music is crap, in my opinion, but there is good stuff too – it’s harder to find, though. Eminem doesn’t do much for me either. 😆 I think Bob Seger is Michigan’s best.
Debbie, I like your night owl image … very cute. I am not a night owl, but I get up early every day, so I guess that makes me elderly-acting. In my 50-year working life, I got up at 5:00 a.m., even when I worked from home, but that was so I could walk before I started to work (I started at 11:30). I still get up early these days. I took the bus for decades, so in the Winter, I shoveled snow first before leaving the house and in the Summer, I watered the whole garden before leaving, so during those seasons I got up at 4:00 a.m. Late for me is 11:00 p.m., except when I used to hang out with friends, then it was later. When I was taking journalism classes as part of my Mass Communications studies, we learned never to use the word “elderly” for anyone younger than 80 years of age. That made sense to me then and it makes sense to me now. BUT, I hear reporters and/or “news readers” giving stories about elderly people in their 60s. Okay, that ticks me off and so I Googled to find just what age now is considered “elderly” and it is 65. I am 68 and do not feel elderly.
Being a morning person doesn’t necessarily make you elderly. Different strokes is all 🙂 I was always running late to work and had a hard time getting up at 6:30. Good thing I was in management and didn’t have to punch a clock. I made up for it by working overtime most days and on weekends. Glad I got out of that rat race! It’s a young person’s world now and we are subject to much age discrimination. A friend of mine (10 years older than me) once said “old age is 20 more years than you are now”. 😁 Our generation thinks and acts much younger than previous ones. Baby Boomers are the coolest generation! 😎
We Baby Boomers have a head on our shoulders and a mind of our own … I hate to use the phrase “sheeple” as I sound like a Twitter/X troll, but it is true. Too many people today do not think independently, nor speak their mind and just go along with the rest of the crowd. That was fine when you were a teenager because God forbid you acted out of the ordinary amongst your peers and you’d be ostracized for it, but you have to grow up sometimes. “Adulting” is hard for them isn’t it?
People hesitate to speak their minds now, for fear of offending someone. When did society become so thin-skinned? That may be why younger generations don’t like us all that much. Most of us aren’t shy about voicing our opinions.😆
Yes we should and follow our own rules.
Absolutely! 🙂 Thanks, Patrick.
Okay, confession time for me. At 72, I have started to like ‘comfortable shoes’, but I dress much the same as I did when I was 30, which was always a little conservative. I don’t go to bed at 9pm, but I am rarely still awake by midnight these days. As for rules I agree with you, there should not be any rules for older people. Dress and act how they want, do whatever makes them happy! Best wishes, Pete.
Comfortable shoes don’t have to be ugly. 🙂 I wear orthotic flip flops in the summer and they still look nice. I’m always amazed that younger people have the temerity to suggest certain styles are “too old” for us. WTF do they know? 🙄😆 Absolutely, do and wear whatever makes you happy – and comfortable. Thanks, Pete!
Y’know, there are yet times Misty and I will be crossing some back of the complex area and I imagine someone yelling, “You kids get out of there!” Not as often as a couple years ago, but…
It would be a supreme compliment to be called a kid, at this point! 😆
You aren’t that much older than I am. I’ll be 69 in March.
I remember Mom at my youngest brother’s wedding getting all pissed about my sisters-in-law wearing little black dresses. They were in their early 40’s and both of them were tall and slender. “They’re too old to wear those dresses!” Hey, if you can get away with it, you should, and if you can’t, go ahead anyway. The older I get, the younger 70 looks…
“if you can get away with it, you should, and if you can’t, go ahead anyway.” Right on! 👌 You know, 70 is the new 50, yes? 😉
This is a great post and absolutely not are you that stereotype of “the little old lady.” You are the Queen of all things cool. I can’t even imagine you as that little old lady. – I’m pretty sure I came out of the womb flipping everybody off so I’m pretty much not a rule follower. Even speed limits are just suggestions unless there’s a cop nearby, right? Lol. And I too am a night owl. I get my best work done then. I do go to bed at a “normal” time but I don’t stay asleep. Two or 3 hours and I’m good to go so I just get up. I really don’t know how people can lay horizontally for 8 hours.
Thanks, Karen! I can’t imagine myself as a little old lady, either. 😆 And I love this: “…came out of the womb flipping everybody off” You go, girl! 😎 Speed limits are suggestions and I don’t remember the last time I had over 5 hours of sleep. Maybe as a teenager. I’ve never enjoyed going to bed, and am up until my eyes won’t stay open.
LOL. I will be 78 next Monday. Never had my hair longer than chin length. Never wore hoop earrings, but lots of dangly ones. Still do. I turned into a morning person in retirement. Eat my main meal at lunch. Never eat after 6. I hate seeing suggestions for what I should do or wear. MYOB. My life and body, my choices! Thanks for the post.
Happy Birthday in advance, Denise! 🎉 I bet dangly earrings are on the same “No-No” list as hoops. 😆 Not demure enough for us old folks. 🙄 Yes, MYOB is the perfect mantra. Thanks for reading. 🙂
I’ve never been much one for rules. I’m good with things that keep order and such, but not arbitrary rules regarding what others think I should be or do.
Exactly! 🙂 We all have our unique personalities and styles. I find it curious that some would attempt to change that.