The Lady Vanishes as She Ages in America, Including Me

<h2> </h2> <blockquote> <p>As women become older, they entertain a wider set of choices about when and how they are seen<em> ~ Akiko Busch</em></p> </blockquote> <p>Don’t hate me, but there is something to be said for being invisible at 72. Unobtrusively lurking on the outskirts of life, observing without being observed. Seemingly non-threatening. Being underestimated, then at the right moment choosing to remove the cloak of invisibility. Surprise.</p> <p>I’m reminded of my 75+-year-old neighbor. She ambulates with a walker, bent over from congenital spinal stenosis. Close-cropped white hair, bespectacled with bifocals, with a smile for everyone. “They see a sweet old lady,” she told me one day, after explaining how she always carries a pistol on her person. She’s had to pull it out on more than one occasion to confront unsuspecting, budding felons. Surprise.</p> <p>There’s a measure of freedom there.</p> <p>On the other hand, it can feel dismissive, rendering a whole segment of the population inconsequential. Women of a certain age. My sister said she noticed it first in her 40s. Much younger men entering the elevator at work would chat her up. She was safe. Older, not a threat. Feeling already faded from view at 40. Seeing herself as an aging object.</p> <p><a href="https://medium.com/crows-feet/the-lady-vanishes-as-she-ages-in-america-including-me-sometimes-1c5ef60f36bb">Visit Now</a></p> <h2> </h2>