Staying Young

By, Gabby Reece

I was eating with my husband (Laird Hamilton) the other day, who is a very young 49, and asked him the age of one of the men he surfs with.  I’m not talking about leisurely surfing; I’m talking about high level performance surfing with wave faces of 60 feet. He said that his friend is 55 years old and then it hit me.  These boys are going to be tearing it up well into their 60’s and I am going to have to stay young for a really long time!  I’m not talking about looking 20 I’m talking about keeping my mind, perspective and the things I do with my time young.

Domestic living (having kids and keeping a home) can make you want to knit and ‘play bingo’.  I realize the day in and day out of domestic living really does fall on the woman and we can understandably succumb to the demeanor it takes hook, line, and sinker!  How do I worry about dinner and laundry without buying into the entire attitude through time where I find myself baking cookies and wearing elastic waistband pants?  This might make you go up in arms, but no wonder so many men leave for a younger, more fun girl.  I don’t actually think men are as wrapped up in that the new girl being young and cute (even though that doesn’t hurt) vs. it has to do with that the other wives get ‘old’ in attitude.  Men and women are different whether we accept it or not.  Imagine your guy comes home for twenty years to a face that registers I’m tired and possibly a little bored for about 12 of them?  It isn’t fair!  I know this, and if we had a guy that did all the stuff at home we wouldn’t want to have sex with them or they would be our gay friend.  So we take it on and then we get beat up by the monotony.

How can we avoid this?  I’m not sure other than recognizing it, and keep moving!  Women are smart and even smarter if we don’t let our emotions completely run the show.  I will recognize when I’m acting like an old hag and snap out of it.  You can’t believe what a girlish laugh or giggle does for a home.  Let’s not lose our girl to being a woman.  Let’s save her and cultivate her.  This way when our young husbands of 50, 60, and 70 are living it up we will not be shouting to them ‘when are you going to grow up?’, but rather ‘what time can you come out to play?’.  Oh, and to those women who have opted to stay home to take care of everything I take my hat off to you.  I don’t care if juggling a career and house is a lot to orchestrate it’s pale in comparison to what it takes to be at home.  You women who do it with a joyful hand are real heroes.

Keep playing!  Young is a number but it really is an attitude.
Best, Gabby

2012 Gabrielle Reece . All Rights Reserved.