Mallika Chopra, IntentBlog

I have been trying not to let them get to me, but I have to admit that I am totally stressing over the fact that every day I find at least 20 new gray hairs in my head.

My morning routine now includes standing in front of a mirror, trying to pluck out one hair at a time. My kids look at me confused, wondering what the heck I am doing as I stand really still, focused on my target, and then smile with glee when I have eliminated one.

The thing is the gray started attacking about a year ago. And, its like they are coming aggressively just to remind me that I am getting older. That I am turning 36 soon (that's young, I know!). I don’t feel like I am getting older, but they remind me that I am… They remind me that people I love are getting older. That I have embarked to a place of no return - two kids, financial responsibilities, work responsibilities.

The days of frolicking about, doing what I want to do, thinking what I want to think with no worries about anything else or anyone else, are really, really long over.

One day, Tara, my four-year-old daughter asked me, "Mama, when you get old, will you also get sick and die?"

"Who got sick and died?" I asked her. "Maa." she responded. Maa, my grandmother, passed away two years ago. In one of my favorite photos, Maa is sitting in a chair and reading a book to my young cousin. She looks very beautiful. Tara loves this picture.

But when she last saw Maa, she was very weak. Tara kept asking me, "Why is she always sleeping?" I had explained that she was not well, that she was older now, weaker. That had obviously stayed with her: old=sick=death.

"Tara, actually people don’t always get sick when they get older. People get wiser and have more and more stories and love and experiences to share with the world."

My four-year-old smiled and seemed to accept my answer quite easily.

I wish I could do the same.