15 Things Women Over 50 Don’t GAF About

And neither should you, ever.

I have to admit, it took me an awfully long time to love the skin I’m in and find my voice.

For years I was a quiet submissive shy church mouse, a hard core people pleaser, a pathetic ‘yes sir, no sir’ girl. Until one day I wasn’t. One day I realized I could tell people exactly how I feel without sounding like a bitch.

For years I was worried about how I looked, what to wear, how to act. You get the idea.

And then one day none of it mattered anymore. This didn’t happen until I was well into my 50’s. There’s something magical and liberating about being a 50 something-year-old woman and if you are part of the “women over 50 tribe”, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

I remember thinking when I was in my 20’s and 30’s that 50 seemed so old and my whole life would just go to shit then. Little did I know. Life actually begins at 50, amirite?

This is my list…

It dawned on me the other day that I can now write about 50 something year old issues and concerns because I have lots of experience in this subject. 9 years experience to be exact.

I’ve grown an awful lot in my 50s and learned so much about myself. The one thing I did learn was I really like me. Like I’m a super cool person. 😎 I also learned that there really is a lot of shit that I don’t give a fuck about anymore.

Like, at all.

So before we get started, this is my list of 15 things that I don’t really gaf about anymore but in talking to many of my 50-year-old friends, they feel the same way too. Feel free to add to this list in the comments section below. I’m sure I missed hundreds of things other women over 50 don’t care about either!

But this list isn’t just for women over 50. I think women over 30 or 40 or 60 or whatever age can totally relate to it.

Without further ado and at the risk of making this long, drawn out, boring and convoluted… (too late?).

15 Things Women Over 50 Don’t Gaf About

In absolutely no particular order of importance, here we go…

1. How long my hair is. You’ve probably heard it a thousand times from your hairstylist. Women over 50 with long hair is a no-no. I actually subscribed to that idea (or should I say myth) for a long time, until I didn’t. I wear my hair long and hope it grows down to my ass. I love my hair and I don’t care if it makes me look older or not. I’m not parting with my hair (oh bad pun?).
2. The clothes I’m ‘supposed to’ wear. Yup. Apparently, when you’re a woman over 50 you have to dress like Mary fucking Poppins. Hard pass. While I don’t wear high heels anymore or mini skirts, it doesn’t stop me from being ballsy and bold in my fashion style either. 
3. Dating age range. Many people are shocked and almost disgusted when they hear a woman over 50 dating a man in his 30’s 40’s or even 20’s. We don’t care what you think. Leave us alone. We’re having fun. So maybe this dude could be my son……………………so?
4. Swearing is unladylike. Fuck off. ‘They say’ it’s not ladylike to swear and they will make sure to tell us that we shouldn’t swear because it makes us look like trash, uneducated or ugly. Fuck off again. Whatever. I’ll drop eff bombs til my dying day. And I AM a lady and even if I’m not…
5. If we are ladies or not. This word ‘ladies’ is overrated. I’m a human and a woman. The rest is irrelevant. I’m smart, sassy, confident, brave, fun, bla bla bla. Do you think I care if ‘lady’ makes the list or not? Nope. My life goal isn’t to strive to ‘be a lady’. It’s to be happy and love the woman I‘ve become.
6. If you like me. Your approval or acceptance of me is not required. If you like me, that’s cool, if you don’t, well that’s cool too. Idrgaf. The reasons why you don’t like me don’t concern me either (it’s probably my potty mouth anyway). I like me and that’s all that matters.
7. The neighbour’s personal life. I don’t want to know that Mr. Jones is having an affair on Mrs. Jones. First of all, it’s none of my business (or yours for that matter) and secondly, I don’t subscribe to gossip. I don’t care to hear about other people’s private business nor do I want to trash talk people either. Grow up.
8. If I hurt your feelings. Not in a deliberate mean way, but if I have to say no to you and it hurts your feelings that’s not my cross to bear. Those are your feelings and emotions, not mine. I am not responsible if things personally offend you. I mean, I would never deliberately hurt you anyway, ever. But I’m not responsible for your feelings. You are.
9. The troubles you had/have with your ex. If we’re just hooking up, or just started dating, I seriously don’t want to hear about how horrible your ex was/is and all the terrible things she put you through. I don’t care. If you’re still hanging on to all that then we’re done. Move on sunshine. No one really gives a shit about that kinda stuff anymore and besides, it’s boring af too. But wait….you’re perfect?
10. Getting older. We have wrinkles and grey hair. Maybe our “boobies” aren’t as perky as they used to be. There may be one or two grey pubes even (insert crying emoji here). Maybe we don’t have the figure we did when we were in our 20’s or 30’s. We are doing our best to age gracefully and that’s all that matters to us. I really have lived a good life.
11. How many friends you have (or how popular you are). This isn’t high school. I keep my circle tight, and it’s a small circle. If you have 100 friends, good for you Felicia. How many are true friends and how many of them can’t wait to talk about you behind your back? This isn’t a competition, babe. They’re just vanity numbers.
12. How much money you make. Or how much money your husband makes. Or your son/daughter who just graduated with honours and nailed a great job at a law firm. I mean we’re happy for you but for the love of God and everything holy, stop bragging. We get it. You’re rich. You’re uber successful and so is your entire family. Can you tell me what’s inside your heart too? I mean, you’ve made sure everyone knows what’s in your wallet, house, and bank account but none of that shit really matters.
13. How much your house is worth. Actually, while we’re talking about money and net worth, I really don’t care about any of that. How big your house is, how much it’s worth, how much your new bag is worth. Please just stop. And stop being so materialistic. I have a newsflash for you, things and money don’t buy happiness. Are you happy independent of all that or because of all that?
14. Your latest cosmetic surgery appointment. Or “boob” job. Or tummy tuck. Or butt implants. Or permanent eyeliner/eyebrows. Or fillers. Or botox. OR how much it cost. Please stop. You don’t want to grow old. You don’t want to age gracefully. I get that. But do you need to ‘brag’ about every single procedure you had? For real (hard eye roll)
15. Your opinion of me. Honestly. I don’t gaf what you think about me. I don’t live my life for you, I live it for me. And your opinion of me is none of my business. If you hate me, hate me alone. Don’t be trying to convince others to hate me with you.

Embracing my idgaf attitude

They say when you get to a certain age, a lot of things just don’t matter. Unfortunately, they still do for some. I stopped caring about what I look like, how I dress, and what you think of me a few years ago. I am beautiful and comfortable in my own skin and that’s what being a strong woman over 50 is all about.

To be honest, I think this idgaf attitude even hits women over 40 (maybe even over 30?). As we grow in our confidence we slowly stop stressing over stupid little things. We embrace who we are and flash it in pride in hopes other women our age will follow suit!

We’ve seen a lot of shit

We came, we saw, we learned, we grew. And we keep on growing and glowing. I swear, being in my 50’s is the most amazing and awesome time of my life. I face fear, I speak my truth, I do what I want when I want and I am always 100% unapologetically me. There’s an amazing freedom that comes with being a woman over 50 who is confident in her skin and totally loves life.

And I fucking love every day of it.

xo iva xo