On aging.

I was reading an excerpt from Oprah Magazine this morning, and the very last page caught my eye.

(Yes, I have been reading housewife magazines since I was 18.)

It was a letter from Oprah about age and getting older, and how most American women treat their age like a four-letter word. It's taboo. 

I have a young mother; she was in her early 20s when I was born. She worked in the beauty industry for many, many years, and aging is just not allowed. You have to be eternally 25 to thrive, it seems.

I grew up watching my mother and her clients discuss getting older and beauty remedies to keep them looking and feeling like they hadn't hit thirty. And to this day, I don't understand the problem.

Maybe it's because I'm too young yet to actually feel "old," but I do have friends even now who have a hard time hitting 20, 21, 22. 

For me, I have always loved aging. I love the potential of a brand new year, a brand new decade. All the trials and joys that time will bring, and all the things I will learn. I have absolutely no desire to hit 25 and stagnate there. 

I hope to enjoy every age that I acquire for what it has to offer. And I never, ever trust people who say "High school was the best time in my life" or "Everything is downhill after college."

That's a cop-out, people. If your life goes downhill, then find a new hill to conquer. None of that has-been nonsense.

As someone about to enter an entirely new phase of life, I don't fear it or long to be a college freshman again. I don't miss being 18 or 21. I want to see what's next. 

I want to appreciate the time that passes instead of getting hung up on the aesthetic. Of course, it's vital to keep your body strong and healthy, but I am in no way expecting to botox the history out of my face.

When I'm 50, I want to look 50. And I want to be okay with that.

My bones might ache from all that my body has traveled and experienced,

my vision may get duller from all it has seen,

and my hair might lose its luster.

But I will still feel beautiful from all I have seen and done, and I have become.

And I will never, EVER lie about my age, unless it's because I'm just a year or two shy of the senior breakfast deal at Denny's.

(Happy Saturday!)

:)