My dear friend Sally Cohen opened the year with a blog post titled “Wise Behind My Ears.” In it, she talks about her fear of aging, based on the learned prejudice most of us have against growing older. She also talks about recent experiences with ageism bias.

She is not wrong. As much as you hear the phrase, “50 is the new [fill in a number at least 10 or more years younger], in my experience, many employers do not share this view. Fortunately for both Sally and me, there are some employers, clients and colleagues who don’t care about your age, as long as you do your job….and stay abreast of the industry in which you work. That is a key component to workforce longevity.

She is also correct that, no matter how many accolades you’ve received, or how much rich experience you’ve acquired, that doesn’t matter much in the moment. Yes, it’s another leaf in your laurel wreath crown, but like an actor, you’re only as successful as your last achievement, until the day you retire. Only then can you rest on your laurels.

We are probably both “late bloomers.” Although I’ve always been somewhat of a ‘Renaissance Woman,” I’ve really grown into and accepted that person within the past few years, willing to jump in and learn new technologies, attempt new activities, and maybe not invite, but definitely flirt with the possibility of failure, risking it in the pursuit of growth and wisdom.

When I was in my 30s, I had a good friend named Joan who was finally forced to retire from the company at which we both worked right after she turned 80, because of an accident in which a truck backed into her as she walked to work in Manhattan one morning. She had sung opera, been married to the principle Conductor of the Longines Symphonette and traveled the world. I loved Joan’s dry wit. She shared stories and wisdom, optimism and an openness to ideas. It really didn’t matter that we were 40+ years apart in age. Another friend named Bea, also 80, played bridge every morning, tennis every afternoon, and went out ballroom dancing in the evening, which is how I came to know her.

The thing about friendship is that it is a two-way street, and it shouldn’t matter that half is well-traveled and the other half is newly-paved. I aspire to be like these two women when I am 80 and over, in both pursuits and friendships.

Age…. It’s only a number… unless you allow it to take on more import than it should have.