Happy Birthday to me! Aging Fabulously

Jen Hardy [00:00:11]:

Welcome to the fabulous over 50 Podcast. I am so excited, you fabulous woman, that you are listening right now. Or maybe you’re a fabulous man and that is totally cool too, because I love I mean, I absolutely love birthdays. I love my birthday. I love my kids birthdays because it’s the one day you’re like king for the day or queen for the day. And that’s how we do it. It’s like all about you. And speaking about it all being about you, stick around because at the end of the show, I’m going to tell you how you’re going to get a present for my birthday.

Jen Hardy [00:00:47]:

Yes, that’s right. I’m going to send you a present. But there’s a catch. So stick around, find out, and then I will be sending you something special. May is extra fun for me because it’s Mother’s Day and it’s my birthday and it’s just so much celebration and it’s all about me. And I’m not going to lie, I like to be the center of attention. It’s a thing. And I don’t know if you do or not, but I guess that’s part of the reason why I have a podcast and I like to speak. And aging fabulously is a goal, even when it’s difficult.

Jen Hardy [00:01:14]:

Just hand me a microphone and I’m all about it. So my birthday, and this is kind of a big one, I’m turning 55 and I think a lot of people see that as being a senior citizen. Some people say when you turn 50, your life is halfway over. But for a lot of us, 100, I don’t know, are we going to make it to 100 with this body? I’m not quite sure. It would be nice if I can be healthy that long, but it does put everything in perspective, especially because the doctors told me in 2018 I wouldn’t make it another year. So here I am, so thrilled to death that they were wrong. And I love it when things go like that in my favor because there’s so much in our culture as a woman navigating this bumpy terrain of aging. And I’ve discovered that the key to embracing this stage of life is just to stop caring what other people think and what they say.

Jen Hardy [00:02:10]:

So here I am. I’m a glitter loving, judgment, shrugging senior citizen, ready to share my hilarious and empowering journey with you. Because I think it’s really important in our culture to talk about this. Nobody wants to talk about it. Women. It’s rude to ask a woman your age, her age, and it’s uncomfortable to say how old we are and why. In other cultures, they celebrate it. They embrace it.

Jen Hardy [00:02:35]:

And so I am trying to put a unique spin on it because I am tired of hiding who I am. I’m tired of hiding the grays. I’m tired of trying to hold I mean, how high up can I hold that phone to take the selfie to make my wrinkles go away? I mean, there’s only so much gravity can do and so high up that I can look. Oh, my goodness. Look at my profile picture and you’ll see what I’m talking about. But what I’ve decided is that I’m just going to embrace this inner child because there’s something that’s just delightfully mischievous about embracing our inner child as we grow old and the world tells us, act your age, and we could just toss that notion out the window along with our old box of hair dye. Who says we can’t wear wild leggings or paint our nails vibrant neon or glitter like me? I mean, my nails are ridiculously glittered for the last several months. And glitter.

Jen Hardy [00:03:30]:

Think about it as your secret weapon. It’s a magical shield that deflects ageist remarks with a brilliant sparkle. Because age is just a number, but Glitters Forever isn’t that great? I just love that so much because, really, when I turned 55 or when I turned 50, it really changed the way I thought about the way other people look at me, right? Because on one hand, I’ve reached an age where society’s officially labeled me as a senior citizen. But on the other hand, I’ve got a treasure trove of wisdom, life experience that sparkles brighter than any glitter in the world. And in a culture that tends to worship youth and dismiss maturity, it’s time for women like us and men to don our glittery crowns. Maybe they’re not that for the men proudly and embrace the freedom that comes with leaving the cares of judgment behind, okay? Because turning 50 is often accompanied by a sense of reflection, introspection, and, let’s be honest, depression. Okay? You’ve seen it, and you’ve experienced enough to know that life’s too short to worry about the small stuff. And like the book says, it’s all small stuff, right? And it wasn’t until I hit the milestone of 50 that I really realized the beauty of being able to let go of other people’s opinions, of their expectations.

Jen Hardy [00:04:51]:

And I found myself embracing the things that made me truly happy, even if they seem silly or unconventional to others, like glitter. Okay? And I found the beauty of letting go of other people’s expectations and their opinions, and I found myself embracing the things that make me happy, okay? I said that twice because I think it’s really important you want to embrace the things that make you happy and let go of all that crap that you don’t. Like, why are you holding on to the things and to the patterns and to the schedule and to whatever that is making you miserable? Girl, let it go. It’s time. It’s time. We’re at an age where you might have 30 or 40 years left. You can start over. You have a whole lifetime.

Jen Hardy [00:05:44]:

But what if we don’t? What if we don’t? So what we need to do is we need to live every day, every week, every month, every year. Not like it’s your last, as in a depressing way, but, like, it’s your best. We need to live every day as our best. Okay, so let’s come back to glitter. Oh, my gosh. You know, my mom hated glitter. And she called it the herpes of the art world because it never went away. And I was not allowed to do anything glitter.

Jen Hardy [00:06:16]:

And I was told that anything girly or glittery was stupid. And it wasn’t until a few years ago that I let those lies go. It’s not. Whatever you like is not stupid. You can be a girly girl. And who says glitter is only for young girls? I’m going to sprinkle it on everything from my nails to my shoes. Because life’s just too dull without a little sparkle. And it’s a reminder that age isn’t a limit on joy and playfulness.

Jen Hardy [00:06:44]:

It’s an opportunity to infuse every moment with whimsy the whimsy you like. Because once we hit this age, we enter the art of not caring. Once you cross that 50 threshold, you realize you’ve earned the right to stop worrying about others thinking and what they think of you. And trust me, it’s liberating. Because you find yourself asking, why did I ever care? Why did I change things to be like someone else? And whether it’s rocking a vibrant hair color or wearing clothes that make you feel like a goddess or fabulously comfy yoga pants and that T shirt that just feels so good. Because fabulous is not. It doesn’t have to be diamonds and blinky and money. Fabulous is whatever makes you feel good, whatever makes you feel fabulous.

Jen Hardy [00:07:39]:

And you can indulge in what the world calls guilty pleasures without guilt. And you can shrug off society’s expectations. And it is bliss once you can do that. And it’s so freeing to realize we can wear that sequined baseball cap without worrying about those side eye glances or whispers. And if they do, who cares? And we can finally speak our minds without fear of being labeled too opinionated or too loud. Because even if they do, it’s us. We can be who we want to be. Becoming a senior citizen, it’s not just fine lines and crows feet.

Jen Hardy [00:08:17]:

It’s basking in the glory of wisdom earned through decades of life experience. It’s knowing who we are and having the strength to be ourselves and to finally just be us. Because society values youth for its beauty and its youthfulness right. But it’s our wisdom that adds our true depth and radiance to our lives. We’ve weathered storms. We’ve tackled challenges. And every time we’ve come out stronger on the other side, it’s time to just throw caution to the wind and embrace the joy of sharing this hardearned wisdom with others. Because the world right now could use more sparkle and more wisdom.

Jen Hardy [00:09:10]:

So as I celebrate my 55th year on this planet, I stand tall, covered in glitter, and full of appreciation for the freedom that comes with this age. I want to be aging fabulously! And even though society and my culture values youth. I’ve found my own definition, what it means to be fabulous over 50, and I want you to find yours. And whatever it is, I want you to live that. I’m not going to let my age define me, and it is not going to limit my choices. I just started a business last year on the 4 July. That’s the date I chose to create my business, because I am embracing the freedom that comes with this age that comes from shrugging off everyone else’s opinions and doing my own things. I’m embracing the joy and the wisdom and the self assuredness that’s coming with every passing year.

Jen Hardy [00:10:06]:

So for my birthday, I’m saying a cheers to you and to all the women out there. Let’s get together and unleash our inner glitter loving or non glitter loving, judgment, defying selves. We’re going to keep rewriting these rules, and we’re going to show the world that maturity and wisdom can be just as vibrant and awe inspiring as youth. Because, girl, we’ve got this. And I want you to join me. We are fabulous. We are fabulous over 50, and we are sexy over 60 and special over 70. And it doesn’t matter how old you are.

Jen Hardy [00:10:54]:

Oh, my goodness. My husband’s grandma was entering dancing contests and modeling when she was 92 years old. There is no time that it needs to stop. My great grandpa was a painting the second floor of his house at 94, and everyone was yelling at him to stop. They were worried. But I thought, you know, God forbid something happens. At least he goes doing something that he wants. He’s not living his life being afraid.

Jen Hardy [00:11:22]:

He’s not in fear. He’s not listening to other people’s judgment. He is doing what he wants to do. And that was so inspiring to me. And that’s the woman I want to be, and that’s the person I want to be. And I want to help you be that person. And I know I sound extra passionate today. I am extra passionate because we have to be this way.

Jen Hardy [00:11:43]:

We have to join together, and we have to put smiles on our faces, and we have to just face this head on and stop burying our head in the sand, stop feeling bad about ourselves. And you know what? I have stopped putting the blonde highlights in. And I call my gray highlights. I now have white highlights. And I love it. Did you know that when your hair gets those grays, there’s like a natural sparkle to it when you go out in the sun? And I’m loving it. So whether you are for or against the glitter, whatever, find the thing, the special thing that you’ve always wanted to do that makes you happy, that maybe other people judged and said, maybe you don’t want to do that. No.

Jen Hardy [00:12:27]:

Yes, you do. Go do it. Go do it and let me know what it is, because I am so excited about it. And another thing that I’m excited about before we go is Jen’s friends. And I don’t know if you’ve heard about this before, but for women who are getting older, maybe you live alone, maybe you just need a little touch of encouragement. Every day there is an email. I send out a video email every single day. It’s only two to three minutes, maybe sometimes four if it’s a big day.

Jen Hardy [00:12:55]:

But it’s just a little encouraging thing because you need to hear that you’re beautiful. You need to hear that you’re amazing. You need to be reminded that you’re fabulous. Because some days we forget and I want to be that voice for whoever needs it. You can get it for yourself. You can gift it to someone else. $17 a month. I mean that’s even when we’re on a fixed income, we can do $17 a month if it means having some joy in our life.

Jen Hardy [00:13:22]:

So definitely check out Jenhardy Net friends. Sign up. Sign your friends up. You got this. Because I am all about infusing the fabulous. We are going to all have it and we’re going to love it and we’re going to live it. And I hope that you have an amazing time. Oh, and there’s a present I forgot to tell you, so here is what it is.

Jen Hardy [00:13:46]:

You give me a present, which is you’re going to review my podcast, okay? You can rate it, whatever you want, whatever you think. Do you think it’s three stars, four stars? Five stars would be great, but whatever you honestly think. And then I want you to write a review and a couple of days later it’s going to go through. You’re going to screenshot it, you’re going to send it to me, Jenhardy Net. Go to the contact page, you’re going to find it. There’s a link to it on every page. So go to Jenhardy netFriends, you can still find it at the top of the page and you’re going to tell me about it. And then if you do that by June 15 of 2023, you get to pick one of the three journals that I’ve created.

Jen Hardy [00:14:30]:

I’m going to sign it and send it to you. Because I love presents, I like getting them, but I really love giving them to and I’m going to give you one of my journals. It’s 1799 on Amazon. You’re going to get it. There’s three, there’s one for business owners, one for moms with chronic illness, and one called The Path to Happiness. And I’m guessing that’s the one you’re going to want. It’s awesome, it’s amazing and you’re going to love it and it’s just for you. So rate and review the podcast.

Jen Hardy [00:14:57]:

Send me a screenshot of when it goes live by June 15, 2023 and you get a journal because it’s my birthday. All right, so thank you for joining me today. And next time oh my gosh, you are going to hear the next good Human Guild Award recipient is amazing. You’re going to love them. So definitely stay tuned to the next episode so that you can see who it is. All right? I can’t wait. Stay tuned. Stay fabulous.