We could learn a lot from the recent movie about Barbie, who escaped the fantasy of Barbie Land, where every Barbie and Ken were young and perfect, for the real world. Though our world wasn’t as ideal as she thought it would be, amid her agony she found herself sitting next to an old woman. She stared, most likely because she’d never seen an elder, and said, “You’re so beautiful.”
We need to remember the many older adults who strengthen our communities and families through paid work, caregiving and volunteering. Not all of us are sitting around fretting about the deepening of our wrinkles; we’re embracing the ones yet to come.
The writer is executive director of Generations United.
