The Aging Process

So I have begun to notice some changes taking place in regards to getting older.  They kinda snuck up on me this past year.  I remember prior to Christmas of 2010 I didnt notice major changes taking place in my body due to holiday eating, but that was the first year I wished I had brought some more comfortable jeans along for the trip to Nate's parents house.  Each day I felt more and more like I was stuffing myself into jeans that had no business being on my body.  And that's when I first started noticing the muffin top.  You know, the lovely little layer of chub that stuffs out of too tight jeans in the belly area? Those were some Christmas surprises I didnt celebrate.

But if I think back honestly, major changes have been taking place ever since the arrival of my children.  I now have these two deep vertical wrinkles between my eyebrows.  Apparently I have scowled enough times now to have permanently altered my appearance.  I also have tiny red dots all over my body that showed up after pregnancy.  What are these? It's as if I've been sprinkled with little red freckles.  And I caught sight of the backs of my arms in the mirror the other day and was shocked to see "mom arms" staring back at me.  What happened to the nicely defined muscle tone of my youth? Without warning my metabolism has shifted and my body has responded by holding on to empty calories like a confused home owner on an episode of Hoarders.

There are new sounds emanating from me daily.  Bending down has become a symphony of popping knees and ankles, heavy breathing, and occasional nose running for some reason.  My stomach is constantly sounding off at the least appropriate times, and it appears I have begun talking to myself.  The other day while working thru the Netflix system on the tv I was unknowingly speaking outloud.  Nate turned to me with his headphones on and asked who I was speaking to and should he be listening. Later that week I caught myself discussing a pretty sweater at Target....with myself.

On the positive side, I feel better about myself now than I ever did in my 20's or early 30's.  I feel more confident about who I am and how I look, and Im not nearly so concerned with what others think of me.  This could stem from either an acceptance of my flaws and the uniqueness of who I am, or the realization that I am old enough to have birthed the women who now appear on the front of today's magazines.  Either way, I wont be getting any younger, so I may as well put down the skinny jeans and give myself a big hug with my mom arms. And tell myself (and anyone who's listening) that it's all part of growing up.