I don't hide my 'old' age, but refuse to be defined by it

The last decades of our lives may see inevitable physical decline, but can also be a period of joyous discovery.

- Chua Mui Hoong

My mother was 40 when she had me. When I was growing up, I always saw her dressed in what I identified as ‘ah ma’ clothes — long polyester trousers and blouses in dark-coloured prints, with a collar, short sleeves, and pockets on both sides, one for her handkerchief, the other for her purse.

She never wore capri pants, let alone bermudas, and I never saw her in shorts, a swimsuit or exercise gear. To me back then, 50 was old, the age when life has passed you by; your own needs and desires have faded and you live largely for your children, or family, or God or some other Big Purpose.

And then I hit my 50s. I am now the age my mother was when I began to grapple with the big questions of life, purpose, identity and values.

And I realised I was wrong all along. Fifty was not old. In fact, I find myself doing things in my 50s I would never have dared to do at 30.

Age is not just a number. Age is a mindset. So while my NRIC declares my age, I have decided that that number does not have to limit what I think I can do.

FIRST CAMPING EXPERIENCE

And so last year, the month I turned 57, I challenged myself with a new adventure.

As a teenaged Girl Guide in Singapore, I had experienced ‘camping’ in the school hall, where we learnt to pitch tents and slept in sleeping bags. We also had a campfire at the basketball court, with real fire. Although the setting was the familiar school grounds, the experience was memorable. It stirred my interest in camping.

Since moving to Perth, I have discovered to my joy that camping here is not just an aspiration, but very much a way of life. My husband and I spend a lot of time in our campervan, on road trips and day trips to the beach, cooking, chilling, sleeping in our van.

But still, I felt the lure of tent camping and wanted to experience sleeping in a tent under the stars, somewhere in the bush.