Why Growing Older Is Simply a ‘Work-in-Progress’

I watch in awe as my 87-year-old mother takes on the challenges of aging, and I am amazed at her resolve to press on with time as her companion rather than her enemy (The Forever Young Issue, July 9). It is only natural and inevitable that people grow older. My mother calls it a work-in-progress, and it is that attitude that keeps her going. She takes an interest in the world around her and she has seen so much--trends that come and go, too many wars. The older she gets, she is still amazed by the ever-changing world she lives in.

You can try to pretend that growing old won’t happen to you and fool only yourself in the process for a while. Or you can roll with it, learn from it and know what really matters in life is that which is full of substance and learning and grace, like my mom.

Frances Terrell Lippman

Los Angeles

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The articles in the Forever Young Issue were incredibly disturbing. The thought of women--young and old--submitting themselves to mutilating procedures for cosmetic allure reflects a disgusting aspect of our greedy, corporate-oriented society. We can’t accept ourselves because at every turn we are told not to mature, not to age.

Think of the energy we would save if we simply stopped focusing on our sagging breasts, droopy eyelids or pouchy tummies. I hope that who I am and who I become in life is worth a lot more than a few pounds of flesh.

Deborah A. Montana

Riverside

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“Forever Young”: a curse suffered by those who live in Southern California, where poor air quality prevents us from gazing at the nighttime sky so that we might understand we are not the center of the universe.

Reita Hamilton

Via the Internet