“I’ve made up my mind not to let a number determine how I feel about the way I look” – Katherine Heigl   I would add to this quote: whether it be related to a scale or my age. ????

When I read this quote, it took me back to when I was a child.  I was reminded that I probably came out of the womb a size 6X.  Do any of you remember that number for girls clothing?  At the time, all I knew is that it meant I wore a larger size than most girls.  As I became a teenager, it did not take long to realize, as most females do, that my weight coincided with how others perceived me.  At that time, I also did not realize this is how I would also come to view myself.  Needless to say, I was not petite.  But, I was also not overweight. At least, now I realize I was not overweight.  I was what everyone called, “big boned”.   I do not blame anyone for this but, I do think it is, or at least was for most women my age  growing up(now 57) very real.

We then crossed the 40’s threshold and began to realize that our external shell was changing, but we still thought we had control over it….and to a certain extent, we did.  That is, if we exercised enough or bought enough product.  But, something else happened, life.  If we had children, they began to have their own lives.  Some of us experienced divorce, death in a relationship, job change, etc.   We began to realize our own parents were aging.  These experiences began to color the way we saw the world.  But, we still were not sure what it all meant.

Now, we have reached the mid-life point and beyond.   We realize the world really is not black and white.  We begin to realize our life is somewhat like an onion.  We can peel our layers and each will reveal a different story.  But, with each layer peeled, we also realize we are truly mortal.  We begin to think about our parents.  Perhaps, they are no longer living and there is the realization that we are the next layer.  So, we begin to want to live and love in the present.  We begin to ask ourselves what is really important.  What kind of legacy do we want to leave?  It is at this point, as women, we begin to reflect on what really is important to us.  We realize that being a 6X really did not matter.  We realize the lines on our forehead are earned lines and we realize that life is all about balance.  We now know how important it is to take care of ourselves, inside and out.  We exercise for our health and buy product to moisturize our skin.  We begin to really love ourselves for who we are and make changes to us and FOR us.

If you continue to follow Grace and Aging, you will see that “living the questions” is vital.    They say, (whoever “they” is), that with age comes wisdom. I now have become part of the “they” group and believe that with age does come wisdom and am hoping that as I live out life’s questions I continue to care for me and find balance in life and I hope that you do too.