Beautifully Old

Stretch marks, wrinkles, cellulite, sagging, gray hair, stray hair, varicose veins, calloused hands, aching feetc

It has been an eventful decade for my body. In the past ten years this body has survived six pregnancies, 350+ total lbs gained and lost again, a miscarriage, three major surgeries, 10 months of bed rest, seven years nursing babies, and all the other wear and tear that come with being a mom. Gravity and slowed metabolism are taking over and I am "feeling old" a lot sooner than I ever would have estimated. Suddenly it makes sense to me why healthy women worry about injections, silicon, dyes, elective surgeries, extensions, laser treatments and such. Having emerged from my twenties alive, I could use a major overhaul!

I believe in "Chemistry for Better Living". No question about that- especially in regards to mental health. (In fact I joked about putting "I heart Prozac" in vinyl lettering on my bedroom wall.) So what about using science to turn back time and spruce up the ol' bod a bit?

I think it would be great to have my chest above my belly button again, a flawless face and a tight backside. It'd be nice tossing out the tweezers, batting crazy long lashes and turnin' heads at the high school reunion. Whitening or veneers could be a definite improvement. Liposuction would make plane rides roomier. I could save so much time in the shower with a laser treatment or three. And a nose job would make it so much easier to find glasses that fit. The list goes on.

But if I nipped, tucked, stuffed, remodeled, lasered, and injected...

How could I teach my girls that they are beautiful just the way they are?
How would I show my son that there is more to women than meets the eye?
How would I discover that my husband loves me in all times and seasons?
And how would I explain to my Creator that I thought my idea was better?

I don't know.

So I think I'll just try to do the best with what the Good Lord gave me. Its not perfect by Cosmopolitan's standards. But I've never much cared for that rubric anyway. I'll never win a beauty contest or be mistaken for a trophy wife. But I'll happily 'take one for the team' and be the resident "Plain Jane" if it someday gives another young woman courage to be exactly right the way God made her.

I'm going to embrace my "Charging Rhino Thighs" heritage, be proud of who I am and use these thunder thighs to pile on several kids for a snuggle and a story. I'll cry my mascara off my short lashes with my sisters in relief society. I'll wrap my 'fishy' untoned arms around someone in need. I will remember that my freckles are souvenirs from sunny times. I'll be glad for a double chin when its cold and I forgot a scarf. I will try to spend more time thinking of others than myself. I will take the best care of my body I can and thank God everyday for good health and this in-body experience.

And... I'll invest in a good bra. ;)

Here's to growing old, and high hopes for the resurrection!

(P.S. To my beautiful friends who opt for the overhaul: You didn't need it. You already looked great. But if you need a 'control group' for your beauty science experiment I am always here for you!)