* see my full outfit post w/details here *
Because I don’t feel any older than I did when I was in my early twenties {though hopefully I have learned a thing or two since then}, I find myself reminding myself that I am actually 36 years old on a pretty frequent basis.
As I apply my makeup or pass my reflection in the mirror, I often lean in closer to inspect the lines and crevices on my face that seem to be deepening by the day and wince at the sight of them. Rather than immediately getting overly depressed about my reality though, my inner voice is quick to respond to the negativity with “You’re 36 Maegan, what do you expect?” … “Yeah!”, I agree with myself, giggle, and then go about my day without another thought of it.
The same little conversation occurs in my head when I see my body changing with age as well. My muscles, my skin, my ahem, boobs and butt, are all a little looser now than they once were. The strange vertical ridges on my nails, dark spots on my face, the random gray hairs and even the fine carpet-like images that appear in my vision-line when I focus on an all-white screen. The way my hips make a loud POPPING noise every time I go from a squatting or kneeling position back up to a standing one, and the various areas my back aches throughout the month. Though eating right and taking care of ourselves is important, there is no ignoring the physical aging process, no matter what creams we use, foods and vitamins we intake, or even what exercises we do to prevent it.
I watched my mom {who has just turned 59} spend so much time trying to fight the aging process by working out and eating right and taking handfuls of vitamins only to turn 50 and feel like it was all for naught. While she does look great and managed to stay ridiculously healthy over the years, she still got wrinkles and cellulite and gray hair just like everyone else and she wasn’t happy about it. I think it somehow took her by surprise that even though she took all the preventative measures, age still happened. But without age, we have no memories, no life experience, no joys and no sorrows, no successes and no failures, no love and no loss and I think each line and wrinkle, like tattoos, represent our life stories.
“You’re 36 Maegan, what do you expect?” somehow relaxes me about the entire aging process. Whether it sounds like it or not, it’s a positive inspiration to me that takes the pressure off each day and reminds me that I am happy in my skin, with all its lines, wrinkles, lumps, and jiggles. And I think happiness, above all, is the key to a youthful glow. No, I don’t think 36 is really that old but I do think the expectations I had for myself, especially physically speaking, were a lot different when I was 26 compared to what they are now at 36. And if they’re not, then a re-evaluation is in order! We have enough pressure in this life, to add to it with more negativity about our appearance, is just a waste of time.
I’d like to think that for the most part, I am comfortable in my skin and hopefully this same positive thinking will continue through the years so that I age gracefully and happily as I’ve always dreamt of doing. The women I’ve always admired look happy, confident, and comfortable in their skin AND in their age…and that’s exactly how I plan to be, living the good life.
How do you practice aging gracefully and happily? Leave me a comment below for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card courtesy of Olay!
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