Monday, October 08, 2007

Feliz cumpleaños a mi!


Today I have two reasons to celebrate: this is my 100th post, and I'm 38! The photo above is circa 1970, just before my first birthday. I haven't changed a bit, have I?

So, here are a few thoughts: a couple weeks ago, my younger sisters turned 31 and Dorothy posted on her blog a very thoughtful birthday meditation. What she wrote got me thinking on how I feel about growing older. Shortly after that, I was in the waiting room at the doctor's office and read an article in Newsweek on women coloring their hair vs. letting it go gray. The debate on whether women lose some of their social power by going gray added fuel to my thoughts, as I had recently been trying to decide for myself whether to start coloring my hair again now I'm no longer pregnant.

The culmination of this mental ferment is my realization that in the last few years I have finally become comfortable in my own skin, in a way I never was during my teens or twenties—when I arguably looked better (or at least had lower mileage).

Doing a triathlon last fall was a huge catalyst in that change because I came to respect my body (warts and all) and appreciate its tremendous capacity to accomplish what I asked of it. Sure there are things I'd love to tweak (and probably will), but I like who I am inside and out. Being happy with who I am motivates me to want to take better care of myself and safeguard my health, but ultimately frees me from the crippling self-judgement I've struggled with in the past. It's a good feeling to realize I'm okay with growing old gracefully, embracing my cellulite, wrinkles, stretch marks and gray hair (which Debbie likes to call my "platinum highlights").

After all, I've earned them.

4 comments:

aubrey said...

happy, happy birthday katie!! i didn't even know! that article was fabulous and i am definitely looking into that book. what a great post about your confidence. you are an amazing woman, katie! i hope you had a wonderful birthday! and i love your platinum highlights!

Dory said...

Happy Birthday Big Sister! Growing older definately has advantages. I"ll let you know when I remember what they are... Seriously, though, womanhood has it's phases that we sometimes fail to recognize in this culture. Maidenhood, Motherhood, the chrone, and there are other more subtle roles that we take on. Owning our passages through life are powerful opportunities for all of us. So embrace the beauty of who you are at this moment! Bless you in all of your glory as you will undoubtedly bless those whose lives you touch. Thanks for being born! Thanks for being a sista soldier! Lots of HUGS & KISSES!!
~Dory

lemon square said...

wow! i didn't know it was your birthday! congrats! i didn't know you were ten years older than me either. double congrats! happy birthday!

chicklegirl said...

Thanks for the well wishes, ladies! I did have a great day. In fact, I am happy to report I went in that day for my six week post-partum checkup. Okay, so it's not exactly the best birthday present to spend even a small part of the day in stirrups, but it was worth it to find out that I have a clean bill of health; I can now start biking, swimming and running again--hooray!