The Blossoming Years
“Aging Is Living And It Starts The Minute We’re Born”
Joanne Friedland Roberts
(series in progress)
This photographic series portrays the positive attributes of aging through photographs of faux flowers I constructed from parts of dried onions. I use various onions, but only members of the allium family. I chose onions to represent aging because both are judged lowly and dull in our culture. I became interested in aging when people began profiling me into the age box, so I researched many myths to find the truth about aging. Ageism is the last “ism”. We’re individuals, so chronological age is unreliable to stereotype what a person is like — young or old. People evolve and add layers over time as they absorb the nourishment of life, both bitter and sweet. Scientific studies reveal that a positive view of aging can extend a person’s life by seven years, plus impact our memories. Another truth, brief memory lapses can happen at any age. So based on this information, which is it—a “Senior Moment or a “Millennial Moment”? At least three types of memory actually improve with age—one such is “Pattern Recognition”. So, if you’re getting an x-ray you’ll want a 70-year-old Radiologist reading it—not a 30-year-old.
Studies show the happiest people, besides children, are people in their 80’s, and the happiest doctors are Geriatricians. We explore new things during the aging years causing a reinvention of ourselves—like the onion’s reinvention into these faux flowers. “The older years are like a staircase, bringing us into wisdom, wholeness and authenticity. It gets easier to focus on what truly matters,” says Jane Fonda.
Robert Browning’s invitation: Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be!
