Do You Really Not Mind Getting Older, Dee?

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Do you really not mind getting older, Dee? That’s the question I answered three times last week for three different interviews.

Category

i am dee

Date

18/05/2024

Length

4 min read

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Soon, my story will be featured in Belgian magazine Weekend Knack, German online magazine Femtastic, and Dutch Wendy magazine. Busy bee Dee.

But to answer that question again here, because I can be as verbose as I want without the character limits of Instagram captions: not always. Or, maybe better said, it’s not always bad. Or it’s mostly fun? This brings me to a little side note about Instagram captions. I sometimes collaborate with brands, and a long time ago, I made a deal with myself to only collaborate with brands that fit me or have something meaningful to offer my audience.

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I genuinely stand behind all the brands I mention on my channels. Often, it’s about the product itself, the story behind it, the brand’s mission, or because it’s a counterpart to another similar product I promote—perhaps cheaper or more expensive. My follower base is large and global. There’s something for everyone, or at least that’s the goal. But, of course, you also get the people who work for the brand.

Interestingly, marketing jobs are often filled by young people, who could practically be my kids by now, because marketing is such a trendy and flashy career. In my opinion, that’s one of the reasons we rarely see those fabulous older ladies in the spotlight. The hip marketing crowd doesn’t quite connect with the 40/50-somethings—they think of that demographic as their parents. I get it. But it’s smart to occasionally look towards the future. Eventually (hopefully), everyone turns 50.

Anyway, I create content for brands to post on my Instagram feed, and a fun video deserves a catchy caption, preferably with a link and promo code, because we need to sell stuff. And, without fail, I get feedback on my overly long captions. “Who reads that?” asks the brand’s charming young marketing and communication girl. Well, I always reply, my audience.

My audience still reads. They read because they’re used to it and understand that something interesting might be said—or not. Ha!

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"It’s surprisingly okay and fun to be in my forties now, looking forward to my fifties. Life is more than “being young forever.”

Dee

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Let’s circle back to that question about getting older. No, I don’t mind getting older. I’ve been young, for a long time actually. Carefree and young until Finn was born when I was 40. Before that, I lived for myself and only myself. So yes, I’ve been young for a long time, and I still am young and feel young. It’s surprisingly okay and fun to be in my forties now, looking forward to my fifties. Life is more than “being young forever.” But…

Sometimes, with all the health hiccups, I do get a bit frustrated. Bladder infections, a small list of perimenopause symptoms adding up, but still very regular and quite intense periods. That, combined with my endometriosis, makes it an even bigger challenge than it has been for the past 35 years. Then there’s the HPV, which I’ve been treating with medication for the past 12 weeks—I’ll spare you the details. And those bad cancer cells in my right breast. I don’t lose sleep over it—sleep is crucial—but of course, I sometimes think, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm… I’m only 48, what will it be like when I’m 88?

I mean, if I’m already dealing with quite a few issues now, how do you stay fit, cheerful, and healthy as you truly grow old? Thankfully, I have a long list of women I follow on Instagram who are my role models, my future. Thank you, ladies, I am grateful to you and can’t thank you enough for creating perspective. And look, this isn’t about a few wrinkles because who cares? As long as you’re not running to the bathroom every ten minutes with a burning bladder, lying awake at night with big worries about the world and your health, like discovering you’ve got breast cancer too late instead of early (luckily, I caught it in time). In that context, a few wrinkles are nothing, right?

I mean, of course, I don’t mind getting older. I just prefer to stay healthy. And allthough things aren’t perfect, I am still very happy and gratefull for where I am in life.

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