WiseMindedLiving

I was in one of the hospital corridors early this morning just taking some time to myself. A neurology resident that took care of Ryleigh last time we were here. He noticed me and said hello. We had a good chat as he noticed that both girls were in the hospital the past couple of weeks. We were shooting the breeze and he asked how I was doing…I gave the standard answer — doing as well as expected and just keep on doing what I need to do. He happens to nonchalantly mention that I am a lot more “greyer” then when he saw me 6 months ago. Now I must share that I consciously made the decision to not hide my grey anymore with dye (as I have been doing since I was 16!). I figure I don’t look older but wiser and feel like I have earned every grey hair. Six months ago I would have been embarrassed and apologetic saying I did not have time to go to the hair dressers.
Over the last 13 years I have learned that we need to embrace who we truly are. I enjoy each birthday as a Yippee that I have made it through another year. Each day I share with my daughters that real beauty is from the inside out, that beautiful come in all sizes, shapes, and colours. I try my best to get them to embrace their “imperfections” as their uniqueness. How can I model to them this if I am constantly questioning how I look, do I have wrinkles, putting down myself from how I look.
As baby boomers get older society seems to be focusing on aging as a negative thing. I think the contrary – getting old is something to be proud of and not something to avoid. The reality is that we will age – we will get older. But we can choose to live each day with dignity, courage, love, laughter, empathy, compassion, and reflection.
Enjoy who you are – be a role model for the youngsters who are watching us!