Please commence gazing into this:For some reason Im really excited about my birthday this year.
Typically Im more about other people’s day of birth mainly because I make time to celebrate and indulge myself daily.
This year, however, Ive been pondering and planning and *deciding* how Ill spend my celebratory 24 hours already.
Im not sure if it’s because it falls on a weekday & making that WORKfree feels decadent or if it’s because Ive been reminded repeatedly this year how fleeting life is.
Which brings me to the point of my post (no, we arent going to merely gaze into navel the entire time):
People frequently remark to me how young I look & that I dont look 42.
The thing is—I do.
I know I do. I life-guarded too many summers during the time of “lets slather with babyoil!” to not look at *least* my age.
Of course I merely say thank you (as I do not want to denigrate their kind words), yet I know what they’re complementing is my young spirit & my ability to love and accept my rapidly wrinkling countenance aging bod.
What they perceive as ‘youthful’ is my pointy packpack. The fact Im the comfy in my own skin-suit. The way I’ll play and laugh with the Tornado without fretting about being “proper” or grownup.
Whether my outer appearance reflects my inner youfulnessment may be debatable, but the fact this will change is not.
Im going to A-G-E. A lot lot. If Im lucky.
Whats important to me isn’t I never lose my muscle tone it’s I never misplace my love and appreciation for my aging vessel.
The below is a snippet from a recent interview. It contains all my ‘loving my aging bod tips’ straight from my keeping-young-through-the-cardio-I-DONT-love misfit heart.
I’ve coined an acronym (because to know me is to KNOW I love me some acronyms) for my peeps who remain skeptical about embracing our aging bodies as they are today (not ten pounds or more muscle or *anything* from now).
Appraise yourself internally not externally. Is your energy boundless? Can you literally or figuratively run circles around other moms at the playground? Can you hoist your suitcase into the overhead bin without needing help? Make time to acknowledge and *celebrate* these facts.
Give yourself a break. My self-love skyrocketed when I embraced the fact I no longer looked twenty. No matter how “young” I may or may not look for 40+—I’d never be 20 again. There are certain, uh, garments I may never again wear outside the privacy of my home. There are activities I may not excel in (like Roller Derby) because I no longer have a 20 year old back. Having that awareness allows me to take more risks because my expectations are realistic (<—- PONDER THIS. It was life changing for me.)
Express gratitude for today… tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. Do I really want to waste my time obsessing over gaining three pounds when the alternative is not being here? And, just when I think Ive got this one covered, something happens to remind me of the frailty of life. I EASILY choose to be thankful for my careening toward old age bod when faced with the alternative. And, most days, Im able to also choose LAUGHING at the coming/already here indignities of the aging process.
And thats where I am on this THIRTY MORE DAYS! Monday.
Appraising myself from the INSIDE out.Planning a fun, festive & work-FREE birthday.Giggling at the Groupon I just received for BOTOX.
and you?
How do you *pause* & celebrate YOU as each birthday passes?
Got any additional tips for aging with joy not a grimace?
Wanna come play with me on 7.18?
No comments:
Post a Comment