Woman's Own April 4 1959Page 52

woman’s own, WOMAN TO WOMAN SERVICE conducted by RUTH MARTIN 

Life begins at forty! It's true: you need only be as old as you feel! 

WHAT does the thought of being 40 mean to you? If you are a teenager, the odds are you've never considered it. It is too far ahead. But if you are in your twenties or thirties, it is a different story. You regard 40 as a bridge into middle age -a milestone that's getting uncomfortably near. 

Odd phrases stir in your mind. 'Clothes for the Older Woman.' 'Too Old at 40.' 'Hardening of the arteries.' That can't possibly be you!

You are enjoying life, if anything, more than ever, and you don't feel a day older than you did, say, ten years ago. 

But are you fooling yourself? Do people already (behind your back) hint at mutton dressed as lamb? Do other women feel no different, like you, or are you something of a freak? 

Wait a minute! Why pick on 40? We begin to grow old from the day we are born, and there is no mysterious occurrence at 40, which accelerates this process! 

Of course, it's true that once upon a time you were lucky if you survived to be 40 at all; but times have changed. 

Change 

OUR expected span of life has almost doubled. Many illnesses which at one time were fatal are now, thanks to medical science, little more than an inconvenience. 

Married women no longer don lace caps and retire into domestic obscurity at the age of 30. And single girls are often considered 'too young to know their own minds' at an age when, once, they would have been resigning themselves to spinsterhood! 

We accept these things readily enough: why should it then be difficult to realize that the term 'middle-aged' has changed its meaning entirely? 

It is now a relative, and very elastic, term. 

Some women will never be old; some have never been young. The fact of being 40 has nothing whatever to do with it. 

Poise 

NOW look at the advantages of being 40. 

A woman of 40 has none of the gaucheness of youth, but, instead, poise and a fund of understanding which only come with experience. 

Her sense of proportion is stabilized. She has learned that appearances are often deceptive; is no longer impressed by a glittering, artificial veneer, and so she looks deeper and finds far more that is worth while. 

She makes fewer mistakes, and no longer broods on them. 

She has the courage of her convictions, and is not easily swayed . by public opinion. She enjoys what she likes, rather than what she is told she should. 

She can cope with her domestic responsibilities-and she may, by now, be relieved of some of them as children leave home-with the result that she can devote more time to being a wife rather than a mother.

And she knows that real love and sexual attractions can form a perfect partnership which is enriched by the years:

· so we can begin to live 

IF a woman of 40 uses her advantages, she will be more attractive than ever before. 

If she is still single, she need not be afraid to marry. Should she wish to become a mother . . . why not? The number of women who produce their first children after 40 is growing steadily. 

She realizes that opportunity doesn't only knock once -and that she can 'still do things she missed doing in youth. 

Today's woman of 40 is no longer secretly afraid of the change of life (which she knows is more likely to begin at 50 than 40, ill any case), for she knows that medical help will reduce un- pleasant symptoms (if any) to a minimum. 

Someone once said that being 40 is not an age, but an attitude of mind. So true ! 

We have' more experience, more knowledge, more time. All wonderful assets. 

And if we use them, then we can begin to live . . . more than ever before. . . at 40. 

· Ruth Martin also conducts our Mother and Child Service and will gladly help readers with their problems. Write to her at the address on page 7. Please enclose a stamped addressed envelope. 

-------------------------
To love -  and to protect 

Above all, he needs love. But love alone cannot guard the health on which his future happiness depends. He must have care and protection too.  

The Gentle Safeguard. A wise mother follows the example of. doctors, maternity wards and clinics. She uses Dettol daily to guard against the germs that threaten even the cleanest home. For Dettol is not only deadly to germs, it is gentle and safe - non-poisonous and harmless to delicate tissue. 

Dettol makes your bath more hycienic and refreshing.

Dettol Right Through the Home. Always have Dettol ready for cuts and grazes. Use Dettol for personal hygiene and to make the daily bath extra-hygienic and. refreshing. When colds are about leave handkerchiefs in a Dettol solution before washing. Use Dettol in the water when , soaking baby's nappies. In the kitchen wipe down shelves and draining boards with Dettol. No other antiseptic : combines the safety and germ-killing power of Dettol. 

Fight infection risks with 'DETTOL' REGD.
------------------------