Y'all, I'm slightly addicted to Reddit. Mostly, it's fun to read posts about cooking or tv shows or whatever, but sometimes I like to wade into the shit-filled ocean of political posts. Those posts make me hate humanity, because... WOW. But then, there's other posts that are non-political that end up being beneficial or even thought-provoking, like this one I read a few days ago. There was a post a week ago asking what you hated about your ageing body. Lots of comments about wrinkles, grey hair, creaky bones, etc. But then someone posted the opposite question - what do you love about your ageing body? Again, most people posted superficial things like "not having to color my hair," or "not having to please society and wear a bra."
But there was one comment that really stuck with me and made me want to write this post. She said that she appreciated her limits. She acknowledged her age, her physicality, and what she could or couldn't do anymore. I realized that I had begun to do the same thing, though I didn't realize it until I read that comment.
I'm not 20 anymore. I can't do all the things all the time anymore. And that's okay. It's not a failure if I can't carry all of the groceries in from the car in one trip. I'm not a loser if I don't sign up for every extra-curricular activity available. I'm not a quitter if I take a break from running and just walk instead. I'm not a wussy for skipping a gym day because of a headache.
Once I started to see this, my entire outlook changed! There's nothing wrong with slowing down! I don't have to keep acting like I'm fine all the time, like I'm a Boss Babe or whatever. I'm almost 50. My body is tired. I can ask for help. I can put things off. I can modify decisions.
Of course this doesn't mean that I'm just going to curl up on the couch and be a potato for the next 40 years. It just means that I have realized that I can't - and no longer need to - hang with the young'uns anymore, and that's fine!
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