Welcome to the first of many columns that addresses how getting older affects you. This is a column about you. Nobody is going to tell you how you SHOULD be feeling or what you SHOULD be doing. We will try to find out which area of aging is of the greatest concern and give some suggestions as to how you could approach it. There will be suggestions from you the readers on topics you’d like to address. I plan to make this a true forum so be prepared to participate.

For some people it is their facial appearance…when they look in the mirror they see the face of someone that doesn’t match how they feel. Each has different ways of coping when those feelings occur.

For others it is their body…for no matter how hard they work at it they still don’t have the body that feels right for them.

Still others are unhappy with their outlook on life ….

Or work can be the boondoggle……. Sometimes the things we do to earn a living do not represent who we really are.

When do you want to retire? Or do you ? When you do - where will you go and what will you do and will you have the wherewithal to do it?

Now I am not a financial advisor, but I think that many financial advisors tell you what you will need without ever finding out what kind of a life you would like. Now maybe that’s because you’ve never looked deep enough to find your passion. But wait…I’m getting ahead of myself.

This column will ask questions about getting older that you may never have been asked before. At very least, it will give you food for thought and, hopefully, stir up the status quo. This will be a place you can voice your concerns and get some answers.

Our first topic will be facial appearance as we age. How do you thinks it affects your work environment? How do you feel about yourself and the confidence level at which you work?

I’ll start it off by saying that just after 50, when I walked past a mirror, I didn’t see the woman that matched my picture of who I was. How did I deal with that? I never looked in the mirror except when I put my makeup on in the morning. I never glanced at myself as I walked by a mirror in the office or even in a ladies room if I was out for dinner. I would put on lipstick, pat my hair and get out of there. How many of you can identify with me? I became just a little more aggressive in sales - not selling the product, but selling myself. I noticed that I was not being real. This is a word you will be hearing often. Instead of being real, I created a mask that covered up my growing feeling of “ I need to be more, because I’m not as good looking as I was.”

Many of you who are reading this may have had the same thoughts as myself.  I would like to hear from you. If you have a question that you would like to have addressed for next month's column, please email me. Your reactions…suggestions…questions…and anything else will be welcomed.  Should you decide to submit a question, your question may be used, but be assured that your privacy will be protected.