October 4, 2007 · 8:00 am

A pleasing looking young woman

Today is my birthday, and I am thirty-six, just about the age Jane was when she wrote about this compliment from Mr. Wyndham Knatchbull:

“‘A pleasing looking young woman’;-that must do;-one cannot pretend to anything better now-thankful to have it continued a few years longer!”

letter to Cassandra
April 30, 1811 [72]

I still think of myself as fairly young, and thirty-six is much younger now than it was then — but I have to admit, there’s a kind of freedom in aging and feeling like you really don’t have to keep up anymore.

6 Comments

Filed under Beauty, Letters

6 Responses to A pleasing looking young woman

  1. Jenny Juliana
    October 4, 2007 at 9:53 am

    I will be thirty-six on my next birthday (January 11th). I feel the same way you do. I am much more content with myself and with life than I was ten years ago!

  2. Jenny Juliana
    October 4, 2007 at 9:54 am

    Forgot to say…Happy Birthday!

  3. Lois
    October 4, 2007 at 2:06 pm

    Happy, happy birthday!!!! 🙂
    Lois

  4. anonymous
    October 4, 2007 at 4:48 pm

    Happy b-day! God bless you for your work and may you be as great a woman as Austen was and continue to follow Him as she did!

  5. Luciana
    October 9, 2007 at 11:03 am

    Happy birthday Lori! It’s a little late, but I’ve just seeing this post, ’cause I don´t have much access to the computer now. Congratulations any way!

  6. dowbuys
    October 10, 2007 at 12:34 pm

    Happy belated birthday! Love your site. Keep up the great work!