Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Mirror Mirror on the wall...

It wasn't long ago that I looked in the mirror and saw a young carefree 20-something with nearly flawless skin staring back at me. But as with most things in life, that too is slowly changing.

Nowadays the mirror is not quite as kind as it once was.

The beginning signs of aging are knocking on my door and, like pesky uninvited out-of-town guests, continue to make themselves at home despite my protests.

It takes more time for me to get ready even though I have less of it to spare, and concealer has become a makeup must. I no longer go hunting for bargains, but rather gray hairs. My former stick-straight hair that once wouldn't hold a curl, is now an unmanageable wavy mess due to ever fluctuating hormone levels, à la last year's pregnancy. I'd be lost without my tweezers, since hair now grows from places I never even knew it could. Freckles continue to multiply thanks to years of sun worshiping poolside and under eye circles persist no matter how much sleep I manage to get.

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And they say that age is just a state of mind.

Well, so is insanity and there are days when despite being only 30, I feel 80 and about as crazy as a table flipping New Jersey housewife.

So what's a girl to do?

Since drawing the curtains, wearing pjs all day, and never leaving the house isn't really an option, I'm left with little choice but to change my self-perception and learn to accept the woman I'm becoming.

No longer will I waste time obsessing about those newly discovered lines in the corner of my eyes. Instead I'll remember how they came to be, those days of laughing so hard my eyes narrowed and filled with happy tears. When I see a new wrinkle around my mouth, I'll think about the countless times my family has made me smile. Oh, and my forehead wrinkles? Well, those obviously stemmed from my wonderfully poignant thoughts and all the years of helpful advice I've shared, of course! But I'm quite sure that all the worrying over my eventually teenage daughter won't help much either!

And though the thought of some day resembling the Old Witch from Snow White makes me shudder, I will try my best to grow old gracefully and learn to embrace each new year along with the changes it brings.

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Life, by design, is imperfect. And, growing old sure does beat the alternative.

What's your reflection saying about you?

"Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections." - Anonymous




{For reasons I can't figure out, yesterday's post never updated and was not shown on Google readers and dashboards. If you'd like to read yesterday's post and my ? to you, just keep scrolling down. You know I love hearing from you!}


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And don't forget:

Head over and view this post on Sassy.Silly.Spunky.Momma where I am guest blogging today.

Click here to enter my newest giveaway (a $45 value), courtesy of Jumping Jax Designs.

14 comments:

Carol said...

Such a great post. My mantra: "I'm as young as I'll ever be." I know that in 10 years I'll look back at pictures of me in my early 30's and think "I was young, why was I so concerned about looking younger, or wrinkles?" So, embrace the state we are in now :) And, it helps that I live in Retirement Central, where compared to the median age of the residents here, I really am YOUNG! LOL

Andrea @ The Dawley Fam said...

What a great perspective to have! I'm hoping that as I age, I will be proud of where I am and what I have accomplished and not worry about the find lines and everything else that goes along with it! Hopefully I can remain positive about it just like you are! And you are gorgeous, there is nothing at all for you to worry about! Have a great day girly! Andrea
http://www.andreasattic-andrea.blogspot.com

Same Sweet Girl: Memoir of a Southern Belle said...

You are so beautiful Shannon!! Your eyes are ridiculous!!!!! :D

I have always had a pretty low self esteem and have never liked what I saw in the mirror. Now that I'm getting older and going through hormone problems...I look back at old pictures and wish I had been happy because now I'd give anything for that. I know EXACTLY how you feel about hair growing in places you didn't think it could. LOL

I hate we missed each other this weekend. I hope y'all had a great time at the concert though!

Hannah said...

I feel you on all of this! It is really hard not to obsess sometimes, I look a back on my pictures too and wonder what happened to me LOL. But I am sure in 10 years we will look back on ourselves now and wished we would have appreciated ourselves a bit more!
I am a new follower!

http://ourhappyhomeblog.blogspot.com

Southern Belle Mama said...

This is so true...we earn every wrinkle, freckle, and line. They are just evidence of a life well lived!

liz said...

Oh, I firmly believe that laugh lines are a sign of a good life!

Kelly said...

Okay - I will try to hide my shock that you think 30 is growing old, because I look fabulous at 35 (gasp!) and as long as I don't get too close to the mirror I don't notice the lines and the wrinkles. But the curls are unmistakable. I thought I would give you a little help with those (unless you are a beautician then you don’t' need me) TIGI - curls Rock products!!!!!!!!!!
My curls went from a crazy, frizzy mess to actually looking HOT - if I do say some myself :) I just comb them in the shower after I shampoo, then flip my hair over and squeeze and crunch with the towel, then put in my curls rock amplifier and flip it back over. Awesome curls!


Good luck with the growing old thing - I'm choosing to not look in mirrors!

Liz Mays said...

Loved your guest post so much! I'm glad to find you through SSM!

Emily said...

I have horrible lines on my forehead.. Ive had them for years and I hate them.. but ryan loves them.. says I have them because Im always smiling and always happy and when Im mad.. I wrinkle my forehead too! I remind myself daily that God made me this way and I should love every thing he gave me.. even wrinkles and circles under my eyes!!

love this post my friend!!

Angela Noelle said...

Ugh, my skin isn't really showing signs of aging yet, instead it's regressing back to my teenage years as I battle constant breakouts. Especially annoying since my skin was actually very clear when I was a teenager! Oh, hormones... you crazy bastards!

Anonymous said...

You are beautiful! Did your items yet? :)

Tracey said...

You hit the nail on the head girlie, although I don't know how many wrinkles you're actually experiencing...can't compare to this old woman's collection! xoxox

Lexie Loo, Lily, Liam & Dylan Too said...

I love this post! You are beautiful!

Karen At Home Blog said...

What a great post. You are adorable! I am glad to hear that your hair got curly and wavy too after baby. Everyone I knows went straigt, but not mine!!!!! When I chopped my hair off again a few weeks ago, the back looks like a 1980's spiral perm!!! I don't know where that came from. I had this same hair cut two years ago, and trust me, it never curled up like that. Now I have to perform magic with my round brush and CHI to get it the way I want it.

Karen