#imnoangel

Although I've never shopped at Lane Bryant, I have to give them props for their new campaign.  I can go on a epic rant here, but I'll refrain.  Maybe.  If you ask nicely.  :)

When did a size 8 turn into a plus size?  When did all the "don't label me" people decide that everyone needs a label again?  What happened to love and acceptance?  Is it any wonder young girls and women struggle to find their place in this upside down, wibbly wobbly world?  (Yes, that was a Doctor Who reference!)

Last May, I turned 50 and discovered that I weigh more than I have ever weighed in my life.  NOW, this is how I think.  Several years ago I wanted peonies.  Instead of just buying the bulbs and planting them, I held off because I didn't want to wait two years for them to grow.  So what did I accomplish?  Instead of having a tiny peony in two years, it took me seven because I was too impatient.  I'm handling my body the same way now.  I got frustrated because I couldn't drop 10 pounds in a week so I didn't bother even trying.  Now I've got 50 pounds to lose because I was impatient and stubborn and yes, a little dumb, about the whole thing.

The Kiddo, who is 22 now, is blessedly content with her body.  In fact, she loves her big ol' booty and will tell anyone who dares to ask exactly how she feels about it!  I'm so thankful that she's found that contentment.  Sure there are things she would change, but she'd rather nom on Godiva chocolates than stress over a little bit of muffin top.

I'll go way back here though and tell you what society is doing to young girls.  VERY young girls.  When the kiddo was maybe 5 years old, I got my Victorias Secret catalog.  She was looking through it with me and turned and asked me "Mommy why can't you look like that?"  I have to tell you, it broke my heart at the time.  She thought they were beautiful and wanted her Mommy to be that beautiful too.  Out of the mouths of babes huh?  She didn't know about Photoshop or blur filters or lighting or any of that stuff, she bought the hype.  Now, are these girls gorgeous?  I suppose.  I think (honestly!) that EVERY woman is beautiful.  We all have our flaws, and we all have our strengths, and those imperfections and gifts are what combine to make us all beautiful.

Now that body-shaming has reached epic proportions, where do these girls go from here?  They're shamed if they're too skinny, they're shamed if they're too chubby, but who decides?  Everyone has their own ideas, so it's literally a no win situation.  I think it's time, no, PAST time that girls and yes, 50 year old women too, can look in the mirror and be not just okay, but happy with the image looking back at them.

The Fabulous Fifties

Over the past few years, I've found myself in a bit of a rut.  Physically and emotionally speaking!  The sleeping condition got worse, and as excited as I was to get my disability determination, I've been struggling with finding "purpose" in my new non-working life.  Along with a lack of focus, I got a little um, self-critical I suppose.  I found myself wondering why anyone would want to read about my life, or lack thereof!  For someone who sleeps most of their life away, what on earth could I have to offer to the world at large?  The answer to that has begun making itself clear!  ME!  I'm one in a million.  For all my flaws and shortcomings, I'm not so bad.  If I was a recipe, I'd be a doozy!  One part crazy, three parts psycho, seventy two parts sleepy, four parts loyal, two parts lovable, a tsp of sexy after 50, and a lot of spices and such!

The answer to this lull I'm finding is not trying to force worth, but finding it where it already exists.  I have value even if I'm the only one who sees it.  Obviously I'm not the only one, the kiddo is still amazing and loves her bat crap crazy Mom, and the Hubs is still sticking around after almost 26 years, so there's that.

Where did blogging come into the past few years?  Well, it didn't.  I lost something along the way, and a few times I tried to force a "comeback" but I wasn't ready.  I'd lost so much already, I think that deep down, I was scared I'd be rejected, or even worse, ignored.  When you're hanging onto your self-confidence by a thread, it's hard to hand the scissors over to the interblogs as a whole.  I know, I know, I wasn't being fair to the few who were nothing short of AMAZING to me, but oh well, reason isn't always a strong suit of mine.

Speaking of the kiddo, she graduates on May the 8th.  I can't even tell you how excited I am about that.  I've been thinking about the upcoming year in our lives and one thing we want to do is let her take a year off so we can just spend time together without any other interruptions.  She's been in school since she was 3 and now almost 20 years later, her school career is coming to an end and we're going to make the best of it.  She'll be starting a design blog, so we'll have blogging time together where we can work on our respective blogs and share knowledge and hints and fun and games with each other and our readers (I HOPE!)

With all that said, I turned 50 last year and well, this blog is about nothing if not aging, or trying NOT to age specifically, so that will be my focus in the future.  I'm not changing the name or the subject matter, not even the look and feel of the blog, I'll just be picking up where I left off and making this something that I can do with the kiddo as long as she's here and it'll be something for me to do if or when she eventually flutters out of the nest!  She swears she's going to stay home until she's 30, and then build us a house together, so here's hoping for that.

Let's make this happen shall we?  Let me know if you're still here!  ROLL CALL!!!!!