A friend of mine sent me a HARO post. HARO, for those of you who are not familiar, stands for Help A Reporter Out and is a daily email that includes media and blogger needs. On this particular post, it said the reporter was looking for women over the age of 50 who were adventurous.
The friend said, “I hope I’m not being 
presumptious by thinking that you’re over 50 but if you are, this may be a good thing for you.”
I answered the query and told the reporter that I was a new triathlete and started racing triathlons nearly two years ago at age 52. The reporter, answered me immediately, and said that she was submitting to the editors of Good Housekeeping and would let me know.
I kept thinking, I don’t even know why I’m doing this. Where is it going to lead?
But I did it anyway, thinking that if you don’t jump at opportunities, you never get anywhere.
I was selected and was asked to come to a photo shoot in the city by west 18th Street. I arrived early. I didn’t know what to expect. I brought extra clothes with me. I did my hair and my makeup and thought I looked pretty good.
There was a mobile home on the block. I went inside. A makeup artist and hair stylist were there, along with the art directors of the shoot.
“Do you want to go curly or straight,” the stylist asked me. I said curly. (I thought my hair looked pretty good, do I need to have it done up?)
The makeup artist, looked at me and said okay. She proceeded to take off all my existing makeup and redo my entire face.
About an hour later, I was asked to go with the photographer, art director, stylist, makeup artist, etc. to the HighLine and pose for a bunch of photos. Some I wore my glasses, others I didn’t. They took dozens of shots and with every shot, someone was running up to me to powder my face or fix my hair. I felt like a model.
The story appeared in Good Housekeeping online a few weeks later.
After that, I received an invite from Good Housekeeping to come to a luncheon at their headquarters in Manhattan.
Interestingly, I met some of my fellow 50 over 50 women at the event. It was quite lovely. It took place on a high floor and had beautiful picturesque views of Manhattan.
The editor of Good Housekeeping welcomed the audience. She explained that when a “woman reached her 50th birthday, she was officially in her “golden years.” This philosophy seems utterly absurd today. That is why L’Oreal and Good Housekeeping teamed up to celebrate the confidence, knowledge and sophistication that evolved during a woman’s life.”
She went on to say that women over 50 have never “left the stage.”
Interesting statistics appeared in the program guide including:
- 94% of respondents to a survey of 1200 women over 50 don’t need to lie about their age
- 80% said they are satisfied with their relationships, overall mental health and family life
- 70% said they are optimistic about continuing to be beautiful as they get older
After a brief introduction, four women panelists were asked to join the stage including: Ellen Levine, editorial director at Heast; Carole Radziwill, author and TV personality; Marlo Thomas, actress, author and activist; Vanessa Williams, singer, actress and designer; and Ali Wentworth, actress, bestselling author, comedienne, and producer.
They spoke candidly about how they feel stronger, more confident today than ever before.
They were both motivating and inspiring as were the other women in the audience.
It was a lovely event and, even though someone mentioned to me that I should participate in the Senior Games, it made me realize it’s okay getting older. Bring it on. I’m ready!
