A friend of mine went to a cosmetologist to get her skin tested. She was asked point blank by the doctor if she liked the way she looked in the mirror. My friend is gorgeous so this must be the standard line used by the doctor to entice insecure people to sign up for procedures - botox, fillers , face lifts and what not, but it set both of us thinking.
Back home I looked in the mirror and asked myself if I liked what I saw. Hmm - so I saw a 40+ , plumpish woman who is beginning to NOT look like a 20 or a 30 year old. There is plenty I could potentially desire. A slimmer me, no stretch marks, no lines on my face , a skin that does not make additional moisturising demands and more bounce and hair on my head!
But I looked again and narcissistic as I am, I pretty much loved what I saw in the mirror.
Ofcourse I could be slimmer - but I don’t necessarily want to die at a ‘ripe’ old age - and there is still so much food I have not tested and tried. The price for being thin is too high (starvation and gymming) and I love my food !! I can let go of LBDs, that I would not be able to sit comfortably in anyways.
My stretch marks remind me of my kids and the most important role in my life -that of a mother. I would not trade these reminders for anything.
And the lines around my eyes are those of laughter and happiness .They reflect a life led with a devil-may-care attitude, full of love and many happy moments!
I still have all my teeth and I have many many reasons to smile and show them off!
And the worry lines that are beginning to form on my forehead are out of concern for my loved ones. I don’t mind getting many more of those, if they will keep my close ones safe and happy.
If my hair falls out, I can don on fancy wigs! And change the hair colour all the time and be a merry old Aunty!
And I still have abundant energy to run for an hour on the treadmill thrice a week.
More significantly, the people important to me love me just the way I am. (Ok - sans the sharp tongue!)
The fear of growing old is very real and it bothers me too.I don’t much like the slower metabolic rate, the incessant pull of gravity or an older self staring out of the mirror.
But then I count my blessings - if I can grow old in the company of people I love dearly, doing things that bring me happiness and satisfaction and remain in fairly good health, then I don’t mind all the wrinkles and lines.
Bring them on!!
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