Wrinkles

The other day, someone posted about seedless watermelons and commented, "Why must everything be so easy?" When I heard her say that, I stopped what I was doing, and it got me thinking about how convenient everything in life has become. Whatever we need is at our fingertips, but is this good? This made me contemplate the issue of appearances.

Why are we struggling to embrace who we are? Why do we need to "fix" our appearance? Has social media exaggerated this? Yes, but this was around before social media - who here remembers heroin chic? The pressure of looking young, being the "right" pant size, covering your greys....Forget that! Ok, fine, I'm not willing to embrace my greys yet, but looking in the mirror and seeing the lines form around my eyes - I am eager to embrace that. No, I am not a size 6. I like food, and I have two very active teenagers who have me running around the world, so sometimes I shove food in my mouth between games, practices, and work, and I embrace that. Because sooner than later (approximately 432 days), the Mom Uber will be no more.

I am not who I was 24 years ago when I started this work, nor do I want to be. I am no longer a mother of two young children, nor do I want to be. I have to wear mature skin products and progressive glasses. I am closer to 50 than 40. However, embracing aging can be a challenge. Embracing life transitions can be even more challenging, but why? I keep asking myself why it can't be easy to embrace it. I have been on this planet for almost 47 years. There's a lot of wear and tear on my body and skin, but that wear and tear made me who I am today.

So the next time you gaze into the mirror and notice something you dislike, remember that aging and bearing scars, both literally and figuratively, are natural processes.