Amy Keene (50 0ver 50 Vol. 2)

Amy shared several of the 50 over 50 social media posts with her daughters throughout Vol. 1 and was touched when they gifted her with a 50 over 50 experience of her own as a Christmas gift. “The photos are striking and empowering; the stories are inspiring. At 58, I appreciate the mission of celebrating the wisdom and beauty of women as we age and thought it would be wonderful to be part of that mission,” Amy said.

Amy shared for as long as she could remember she has been the one behind the camera. “I’m not 100% comfortable being photographed and am often critical of my appearance (even though I know I shouldn’t be!) My mom was the same way and now that she is gone, I wish I had more photographs celebrating her life. I thought this could be a comfortable way of getting some really great photos for my family to have forever.”

She went on to tell, “Eight and a half years ago, my husband and I moved from Richmond to West Lafayette. It was a full circle sort of thing. We met one another in West Lafayette as Purdue students in the 80s, left briefly after graduation only to return to the Lafayette area for 7 years in the 90s before moving to Richmond. We built a home in Richmond for 18 years when a job opportunity for my husband presented itself. How could we say no to returning to where our story began, where our children were born, where the Boilermakers play? All of those things have been a cause for celebration and we continue to feel the move was the right decision for us. 

At the same time, it has been difficult. I still miss the work I did with Girls Inc of Wayne County, I miss our church and the day-to-day interactions with good friends. Over time I have come to realize what I miss most is being among people who knew us as a growing family. How short that phase of life is and how powerful. So much of my identity was being a mother and a family of four. When we moved back to West Lafayette, no one knew our girls. I would mention our dog, Annie, and people mistake Annie as one of our children. I think there's just something special about the village who helps you raise your children, the ones who love your children like their own, the ones who shared the hard days of parenting as well as the celebrations with you. Building friendships here as empty nesters has been a challenge I didn’t expect. For us it has been more difficult without children to easily connect us to the community.

The flip side to the end of the growing family era is having more time for my own pursuits. I enjoy that! I also don’t feel the comparison with other women as I did in earlier years. I feel more confident doing the things that make me happy and who cares about the rest. I value time in nature more and find a walk in the woods is the best cure for almost anything for me. I value time with our adult children, their spouses and two grandchildren. Watching grandchildren grow is a reminder of how fast time goes! I also value mobility and health more and that it allows us to travel and have fun adventures.

When thinking about how the media represent women over 50, one of the unexpected places where I’ve been frustrated by the representation of women is in children’s picture books. Grandma is almost always portrayed as a little old lady. Maybe this is a book I need to re-write!

As I continue to mature into an older generation, I certainly feel there are times when I’m not seen and heard. Is that due to age, gender, my career choices, my personality? I believe it is a combination of all those factors. And sometimes I like not being seen – when I’m alone on a walk, I worry much more about falling and hurting myself than I do about being victimized.

This photo shoot pushed me out of my comfort zone but in a good way that made me glad I did it. The experience reminds you of your value and the importance of viewing  yourself as an individual rather than only who you are in relation to others (wife, mother, grandma, employee), ” Amy said. “And I’m glad I got to incorporate one of my favorite activities into the photoshoot—reading!”

What would you tell your 20 year old self?

-Stop being scared of everything - particularly of failing and not being good enough.

-Life is long - don’t rush - you have lots of years to be a “grown up.”

-Comparison is the thief of joy. Just be you.