We Are Old Girls?

This is a picture I posted a few days ago.  It is the most recent image I have of me and Teddy.  This month Teddy turned 12 and this week I turned 58.  Egads! We are mature ladies (chronologically, if not mentally & emotionally).

I've been doing my best to take care of my dog given her cancer status.  That means I am bathing/grooming her three times a week.  It is really a lot of work.  I'll have to post about that next.  Anyway, when some people see her, they mention that she is looking older.  Maybe it's my mommy bias, but other than the fact I know she has cancer (and has swollen glands to show for it), and I know she is a bit slower, she doesn't look old to me.  Now I, on the other hand, have noticed that I really do look older! Maybe the secret to not caring is to pretend you are a dog?

This picture was taken in 2014 -- half a lifetime ago for Teddy.  I consider a six year old dog to be in her prime.  For us, it was the age she finally started acting like a good dog and not a self-centered, impulsive puppy.  At 12, I see she has become the dog she was meant to be.  She is her best self.

When I look at this picture, I recognize that I look younger.  I'm certainly thinner!  I guess that is what menopause does to you.  On the other hand, I think my dog looks the same age.

Golden Retrievers tend to go white around the eyes and muzzle as they age.  Teddy has always been very blond.  Red heads don't go grey, which I consider a very helpful attribute.  We go from red straight to white, our color maybe getting less vibrant.  At this point, my white looks more like highlighting.  What people perceive as her going white is really her natural color.

I really don't know where I am going with this post, other than to either lament or maybe deny that both Teddy and I are aging. In any event, I seem to be more bothered when people tell me my dog looks old than if they were to say the same thing to me.  What I don't think they realize, that by calling out her aging (as opposed to her age), it makes me really sad.  It calls attention to my time with her being limited.  On the other hand, when people think she is much younger or comment she looks good for her age, it makes me feel so much  better -- and more optimistic about her condition.  OK, I also like it when people guess I am younger than I really am (hint, that is more likely if you act immature).

This may seem so trivial now in these times of elevated death rates.  I guess it makes me feel as though aging is not such a bad thing.  As is often said, it beats the alternative.  At  this point, we are lucky to have that luxury!