Aging Gracefully

I vividly remember running the trail at 37 (back when I could still run) thinking about the space between 80. I was born in 1980 and was thinking about life up to present day, and then I started thinking about life from 37 to 80 years old. None of us know how long we have here on earth, but the space between 80 became a thing for me that day.

Around this time I joined a direct sales company focused on skincare & beauty. I was no makeup pro and knew very little about skincare, but I had tried some products that I loved and decided to dive into something very different from my day job. It allowed me the space for creativity and learning new things. I should also mention my marriage at the time wasn’t going well and we had two young children. I was emerging from the toddler years and trying to reconnect with who I was before kids – if that person even existed anymore. Later that year I trudged through a separation, a transition plan at work, eventually a divorce and the sale of our home. I came out the other side still employed, a single mom of two, and renting a home. With a renewed focus on living life differently from 38 to 80 (give or take some years).

Fast forward to 43 and I am remarried and mom/bonus mom to four amazing kids. I often joke that I’m not sure if our kids are keeping me young or aging me twice as fast. I suppose it depends on the day, but that brings me to the topic for this post – aging gracefully. And if you’re still reading, thank you for sticking with me for the background.

There are varying perspectives on what aging with grace truly means. The one I love most is this idea of aging with confidence – the value of experience and the wisdom that comes with age, and rising above a youth-oriented culture. Everywhere I look there are messages about losing weight, coloring your grey hair, tanning your skin, making your eyebrows fuller, extending your eyelashes, getting your lips filled, and the list goes on. This is not new, but it all feels more relevant given the fact I can’t fit into my jeans from two years ago, I have wrinkles in my forehead, and growing patches of grey hair.

So how does one age gracefully? There’s the obvious…eat well, exercise regularly, get enough sleep, take good care of your skin, and stay on top of your health check ups. But there are other things I am leaning into now more than ever to help me age gracefully. Committing to quiet moments in the morning to reflect on where I’ve been, cultivate a grateful heart, and ask God to help me remain open to growing in His image. Giving up the comparison game – there will always be someone who can do something better than me. We are all created differently and that’s what makes us special. Learning how to talk gently to myself and surrounding myself with people who love me, but challenge me to do better. Accepting the fact that I am human and humans grow old. That I am responsible for helping the two girls growing up in our house establish good self-care habits and realistic ideals.

This is where practice comes in for me. Each day I get to choose what I focus on and where I spend my time and energy. Today I choose wellness; being well and living well. I want to age gracefully.

Psalms 139:14

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.