senescence

def:
1. the state of being old : the process of becoming old
2. the growth phase in a plant or plant part (as a leaf) from full maturity to death

i kind of love this word. just read it today in the this article. i had to look it up. i have decided i will only use it in terms of its 2nd definition because it truly is STILL a growth phase. i really do believe the following is true (even if i don't like her sentence structure):
..."But most women, I think, end up taking these feelings in stride. Most women in their 40s, however conflicted, however sometimes confused, aren’t actually spiraling into self-doubting despair, but are actually working their way toward some greater degree of self-acceptance. Many experience — along with the shift in body mass that pulls things down and pushes them sideways — a kind of psychic shift that frees up some of the energy that once went into external appearances. Many come into their own, creatively, professionally. And in motherhood, in friendships, in romantic relationships."

it has been my experience that the older my women friends become, the more interesting and sexy they are. this, of course, could also be my reaction to my friend brian's bon mot, "well, you had a good run."