Aging happens, and should be a goal not seen as a punishment. If you are lucky enough to be considered “old” then you have lived, which is WAY better than the alternative….
I have had a love/hate relationship with aging over the years. In some ways I look resentfully in the mirror and see glimmers of the young hard-bodied woman I was. I remember having a flat stomach, no gray hairs or lines on my face. But, then I stop and think about the young woman I was. For as cute as I may have been back then, I didn’t know it. I didn’t appreciate it. I didn’t believe it.
The curse of youth is we don’t appreciate it until we are too old to live it fully. The tireless levels of energy, no creaky joints screaming protest at activities that were easy and effortless, the firm muscles that actually responded to the gym, and the carefree living of the first tastes of freedom with minimal debt, responsibility or stress.
As I see the big 5-0 approaching on the horizon, I have become reflective of my self-esteem and self-value, and I wouldn’t go back to the woman I was in those days. I truly love the woman I have become. I am happy. What 25 year old woman feels confident in her body, mind and soul? Not many I have met!
I have my opinions and thoughts and do not feel compelled to apologize for them anymore. I do not live my life to an expectation of how I am seen by others, but live it to how I want to SEE MYSELF. There is a huge and very important difference in those.
My youth taught me many lessons: some good, some bad…but they all were integral to my learning me.
Here is what I have learned about myself:
1. I love wholly and un-apologetically. Yes I have been hurt, damaged and sometimes broken. But, I wouldn’t change that part of myself despite the chances of future hurts. I prefer to live, give love, and appreciate the small moments of joy and try not to worry about the “what ifs.”
2. Life is funny! Look for the joy in the every single day. It doesn’t have to be momentous, just something as simple as a funny thing your child says, or, for me, some awkward moment that would have embarrassed me in my youth, but now can bring me to tears of laughter. I have a running joke with my girlfriends: Days without spilling something on my boobs. I send pictures of the daily spillage, and we all laugh. My record is 3 days.
3. Life is SHORT!
Grab that it by the tail and hang on for the ride. Too soon you won’t be able to really embrace all the opportunities. I do not want to live a life of regret. Hell, when I die I want my friends and family to have a party and remember me as I am now. I want them to say: she lived, she loved and she laughed, a lot! When that special person says that they think you are attractive, believe them. Because as we age, we also don’t have time for bullshit and generally mean what we say.
Insecurity after a bad rela
and realize you cannot even see the shore of your lake. Your lake is now a vast ocean of 
Momginerd 