I recently came back from a Spring Break trip to California with my family. The first photo you see above is a picture my husband took of our kids nine years ago at the same hotel we visited this time. It's one of our faves, so we thought it would be fun to recreate the photo. It sure doesn't feel like it was nearly ten years ago that first photo was taken, and when you have kids, it's a constant reminder of how quickly time passes.
My son is graduating high school this year, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. Don't we all feel like we just graduated from high school? I mean, in my mind I'm still eighteen, with a body that allowed me to eat whatever and whenever I wanted. At the time, I didn't even appreciate it.
Suddenly, I've found myself coming up on my 46th birthday, and my kids are too old for Easter egg hunts. My husband will be fifty next year. Fifty! How in the hell am I old enough to be married to a 50-year-old? Remember when someone in their thirties seemed ancient?
My son is graduating high school this year, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. Don't we all feel like we just graduated from high school? I mean, in my mind I'm still eighteen, with a body that allowed me to eat whatever and whenever I wanted. At the time, I didn't even appreciate it.
Suddenly, I've found myself coming up on my 46th birthday, and my kids are too old for Easter egg hunts. My husband will be fifty next year. Fifty! How in the hell am I old enough to be married to a 50-year-old? Remember when someone in their thirties seemed ancient?
As I use my Panasonic Pivotal Trimmer to remove the fuzz from my face, it all seems so surreal. And the gray? Don't get me started. The skin under my eyes is thinning, leaving dark circles, and the plethora of beauty products available for such problems doesn't make it any easier. You'd think with all these changes, I would at least see an end to the pimples I've fought since I was ten, but no such luck. Those still remain.
Over the past several years, I've had a tubal ligation (signaling the end of child rearing), two hip surgeries (one of them a replacement), uterine ablation (don't ask), and tissue grafting for receding gums. My OB-GYN tells me each time a person undergoes anesthesia, it can lead to hair loss for a year. And I wonder why my hair is falling out in fists. Three vaginal births have resulted in me peeing a little every time I sneeze or laugh too hard, and each year the love handles become slightly more prominent, the tummy a little more flabby.
But... it's all good. I have a wonderful, blessed life. I may have aches and pains. I may get a pinched nerve in my neck from time to time, simply from the act of removing my shirt, but it's been a good ride so far. I'm looking forward to the perks of middle age, such as grandchildren, retirement (still a ways off), and traveling with hubby. Just because we see an older body in the mirror, that doesn't mean the eighteen-year-old inside has to age with it. Happy Easter everyone!
Oh, and I'd love to hear about some of the things about aging that have taken you by surprise. ;)
Over the past several years, I've had a tubal ligation (signaling the end of child rearing), two hip surgeries (one of them a replacement), uterine ablation (don't ask), and tissue grafting for receding gums. My OB-GYN tells me each time a person undergoes anesthesia, it can lead to hair loss for a year. And I wonder why my hair is falling out in fists. Three vaginal births have resulted in me peeing a little every time I sneeze or laugh too hard, and each year the love handles become slightly more prominent, the tummy a little more flabby.
But... it's all good. I have a wonderful, blessed life. I may have aches and pains. I may get a pinched nerve in my neck from time to time, simply from the act of removing my shirt, but it's been a good ride so far. I'm looking forward to the perks of middle age, such as grandchildren, retirement (still a ways off), and traveling with hubby. Just because we see an older body in the mirror, that doesn't mean the eighteen-year-old inside has to age with it. Happy Easter everyone!
Oh, and I'd love to hear about some of the things about aging that have taken you by surprise. ;)
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