I won’t grow up!

Peter Pan had it right. If growing up means no more fun and adventure, I don’t want to grow up either. I like fun and adventure – like doing new things – like challenging myself. I like doing something I never imagined myself doing. Oh yeah, sometime it’s daunting. I have a comfort zone, just like you all.

But life is about growing. Have you done anything new in the last year? Taken a new job? Signed up for a new course? Tried a new diet? Taken up a new sport? Befriended someone new?

Growing older isn’t always fun. There are aches and pains. Younger people come along and exclude you from the tennis court, the nail shop conversation, the bestseller list (oh yeah, it’s true, but for another blog). Your boss suggests you wear your hair differently or dress differently, all to look younger and more hip.

Blueprints talks about this issue. Caroline hosts a reality home construction show, but loses this job in favor of her daughter, solely because the producers want to attract a younger audience. Isn’t this what’s happening in real life? Think of the evening news. As Caroline’s ex-father-in-law, who is 80 and all male, says with a chuckle, “Personally, I like seeing those little blondes reading the news in their cocktail dresses.”

Personally, I don’t. But that’s because I prefer more seasoned reporters who have earned their spot at the anchor desk. I trust them in part because I feel they’re mature. And because they don’t look like clones but like women with brains of their own.

Of course, I also loved Brian Williams. And look where that got me.

Age is an issue in Blueprints. It’s an issue for Jamie, who is 29 and is told by her fiancé that she’s too old not to be able to commit to marriage, and it’s an issue for Caroline, who is 56 and, after struggling to find herself, is told she has to change.

Too young or too old – do you have age issues?

One of my favorite lines from Blueprints (aside from the “little blondes” one above) comes from Caroline at a pivotal point in the book. “It was the moment when she realized that the important part of growing older was the growing part, and that resisting change meant forever standing still.”

Do you agree? Disagree? Or, is there another line from Blueprints that resonates with you?

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8 Comments

  1. Wanda Willis on June 13, 2015 at 9:42 pm

    Can’t wait to read this! I am 60 and feel like this all the time! Wow!

    • Sara Desjardins on June 23, 2015 at 10:04 pm

      Barbara I love your books and have read 3 so far in the last year and look forward to reading them all. With regard to age, my mother also named Barbara, passed away 2 1/2 years ago at age 77. I was pleasantly surprised to find out we enjoy the same author, you. She was an avid reader and accidentally i found in her collection of books last summer a number of your books. I had picked up Sweet Salt Air for a trip to Maine to visit my dad; my parents retired and moved to Maine full time 13 years ago, having vacationed there during summers the past 35+ years. I loved knowing the familiar placed mentioned in the book. I had not heard of you previously and felt I had found a wonderful author on my own. I was surprised to see your name on the books in my mom’s collection and thrilled to have her copies of Together Alone and Flirting with Pete. You are a special treat my mom and I share. Sometimes it is a wonderful surprise to find how similar we are in spite of age.
      Thanks for the wonderful stories,
      Sara from Dallas, TX

  2. Jaime on June 15, 2015 at 9:17 am

    I finished Blueprints yesterday and loved it. Unfortunately, ageism and women will always go hand in hand. Its up to women to handle aging and people’s reactions to aging gracefully. One of the things that I really liked about “Blueprints” was the nontraditional format. With the shakeup coming so early in the book you allowed your readers to explore the fallout more than the build up. As an avid reader I appreciated the change.

  3. Janet on June 15, 2015 at 10:41 pm

    I finished Blueprints on Saturday and it is still resonating in my head. It is a story that I will read again because it is so compelling. I loved Caroline’s and Jamie’s characters and how they continued to grow personally and professionally in spite of the challenges that were thrown in their paths. I have read all of your books and this is one of my all-time favorites!

  4. Gloria Walshver on June 17, 2015 at 12:33 pm

    Love her books.

  5. Betty Baloun on June 21, 2015 at 11:26 pm

    Just finished “Blueprints” and loved it as I have all your previous books! I did find a small error…Caroline’s brown silk blouse (on page 368) became a navy silk blouse on page 383. No biggy, but if I caught it, surely someone else should have. Love your books, can’t wait for the next one!

    • Barbara Delinsky on June 22, 2015 at 9:07 pm

      You are terrific, Betty. Thanks so much for pointing this out. I’m keeping a list of reader-caught mistakes, and will make sure they’re all corrected in the trade paperback edition in 2016!

  6. Barbara Crouch on June 24, 2015 at 11:28 am

    I’m 85. Just finished “Blueprints” this week. Took it back to the library, put it on the counter and said, “Now this is what a book is supposed to be.” I’m sorry to say the new, young authors don’t write for me. I don’t think I’ve missed many of your books. Years ago I spent $65.00 at a used book store on your paperbacks. The library here (pop. 4,000) does order your books and call me when they come in. I have already passed the word to out- of- town friends about “Blueprints”. Many thanks!

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