Inspiration for the Young at Heart

A New Prescription^R6

Lori Phillips

There are three little words that seem to precede any sort of advice I get these days. "At your age," my son says that I should not jog or I could break bones. "At your age," his girlfriend says I can "get away" with wearing anything but mini-skirts. Frankly, I never really cared to jog or wear mini-skirts at any age, but especially at my age, I don't like to be told what I can or can't do.

So imagine my dismay when my optometrist told me that at my age, I should update my eyeglass prescription to trifocals. "At your age," he told me, "it is fairly common."

I don't know if I want clearer vision. Maybe it's a tool of denial, but at my age a little bit of nearsightedness can be kind when I look in the mirror. I don't see the deepening wrinkles and increasing gray. My backside isn't sagging. I just need some new underwear.

Pointing out personal safety, my optometrist prevailed. The vision technician helped me choose some new frames. I am sorely out of sync with today's fashion because I leaned toward thin, wire-rimmed granny glasses. They were cheaper. The girl frowned and handed me some thick, dark angular frames. I slipped them on and she beamed.

"Those eyeglasses make you look twenty years younger," she said seriously. I peered closely into the mirror. She was right! I barely recognized myself. I straightened my back, feeling confident and, well, youthful. Why is it that I suddenly felt twenty years younger? I was taught that what was inside counts. External effects shouldn't matter. But by golly, these eyeglasses had a strange and positive effect on me.

"What you wear really does affect how you see yourself," she said, grinning at her own optometric pun. On the way home, I decided to shop for a new outfit to go with my new glasses. My usual style did not go with these contemporary frames and I chose summer capris in sunny colors. I found myself trying on open-toed sandals instead of practical flats. Since my toes were going to be displayed to the public, I got a pedicure for the first time in years.

Why had I quietly aged into dreary-looking clothing? I went through my closet and saw that an old woman had slowly moved in. There's nothing wrong with comfortable clothes, sweatpants, elastic banded jeans, thick holiday sweaters and easy slip-on shoes in brown and black. But wearing them made me feel like I was cocooning. Maybe, like a butterfly, it was time to emerge for my second life. I reminded myself that I didn't have to skimp on my own clothing budget now that there were no more school clothes to buy for the kids, no prom dresses or graduation suits. Maybe it was time for me to dress for a successful second half of my life.

Today, alongside the comfy clothes, there are pretty silk dresses, linen suits, colorful skirts and fun shoes. And because I need a good reason to wear these outfits, I go out to new restaurants, concerts and social gatherings. In the past, I'd decline partly because I never had anything to wear. I used to say, "Why buy anything? I never go anywhere."

My favorite new outfits include zippy new exercise clothes. Hiking shorts. Yoga pants. Swimsuits. At my age, Lycra is more like a medical prescription. New clothes in general help you feel youthful inside and out. They are more important than we know. After all, Mark Twain once said, "Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society."

"Aren't you glad you updated your prescription?" my son asked. "You're getting out more." He's right. I love my new vision on life and new clothes.

And at my age, I just might go jogging in a mini-skirt with my new eyeglasses. Okay, maybe I won't. But I can if I want to. I just happen to have a more suitable outfit that matches this fabulous new prescription.

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