For Bruce Tretter, getting older shouldn’t affect how you treat every day.
I’m sure you’ve heard it when you’ve wished someone happy birthday. Maybe you’ve even said it yourself. “Oh, please, don’t remind me; I feel so old already.”
There’s a line I use when I hear that. Actually, it’s something I try to live by: “You’ll never again be as young as you are right now. So, enjoy your youth.” Hey, it usually gets me a smile.
Sure, all I have to do is look in the mirror, and I’m quickly reminded that I’m not 18 any more. My hair jumped off my head about two-thirds of my life ago. The bright side of that—and there’s always a bright side—is that I’ve got a wash-and-wear head that hasn’t needed a comb in decades.
The rest of my head? Yeah, you bet. It takes me a little longer every morning to unfold my face. But that’s fine; I love using power tools. “Bruce, the only thing that’s really gonna’ help is smiling—a lot.” Smiling makes me feel a little bit better, and it’s also the best way I’ve found to make my wrinkles line up symmetrically. I love symmetry.
That symmetry applies to much more than lines on my face. It’s about enjoying every moment in life: the ups, downs, and everything in between. I sure know the downs can be painfully devastating. Life, at times, sure is not fair. But who ever said it had to be? Without the downs, there’s no way to feel how great—how full, how satisfying—those ups should really be. Knowing that alone is worth a smile.
So, yes. It’s true. I’m not 18 anymore, but I’m still as young as I’ll ever be, and I’m sure gonna enjoy my youth for all it’s worth. How about you?
—Photo Bruce Tretter
I’m in my early 30’s…and the two sexiest men I know are in their mid to late 40’s. Every line holds a story, lessons learned…and that’s what makes them truly sexy!
For those still in the breeding season, what i meant by The almost indifference to the beauty of women and men is liberation too. An explanation of the indifference follows. For those who did not have sexual thoughts before puberty, the state is similar. You see the person’s physical appeal, but the desire for sex simply doesnt action. Which is still quite weird to experience for me. Also people are not as attractive as i remember them in the breeding season. I look at pictures of people i found hot in my teens and twenties – and they are not… Read more »
My gift to my self on my 18th Birthday was one gray hair – for my 21st birthday it was a total gift!
After that aging is not an issue! Getting people to believe you don’t need to be helped across the road is!
As you approach your 50’s your ability to empathise or sympathise will increase again, yet there is a particular detachment, as you’ve learned that some types of pain / angst are necessary in their life stage.
Interesting to know, thanks
Im 36. I was 25 when I first started to notice i was ageing. My friends(same age) and i had gone to a university student night, and the shock hit us all. We were surrounded by what appeared to be 16yos. The students looked sooo young, their pores so tight, their skin gleaming with a waxy plastic look of a mannequin (if youre 18to25, look at the face of a 13yo to understand what im talking about) It was jarring at 28, When i first started seeing visible lines on my face, my body. The pristine sheen of youth gone.… Read more »
It is wonderful to be out of the ‘breeding season’ (puberty to mid30s). My mind nolonger hearing the insistent barrage of orders to ‘have sex, have sex, have sex, HAVE SEX’. The almost indifference to the beauty of women and men is liberation too. Being fashionable, nolonger matters as much – breeding season related, I suspect. Ive remembered something else. It wasnt just, ” the insistent barrage of orders to ‘have sex, have sex, have sex, HAVE SEX’” but the orders to ‘bond with someone, bond with someone’. That have stopped too. My interest in having a partner is nolonger… Read more »