Well, here it is; the big day. I just turned 26. Twenty-three minutes ago. For some reason this particular number is hitting me hard. I'm closer to 30 than I am to 20. I am actually starting to see myself age: a couple wrinkles, two gray hairs--REAL gray hairs. (I don't want this to be a complaining blog, but these are just my honest thoughts about my birthday.) This means that in my life, I got gray hair before becoming pregnant. (Which I am not, by the way.)
I think, growing up, I had an idealized version of my coping and adapting capabilities. I imagined myself as a perfectly balanced woman who would dance naturally from one phase of life to the next. I repeated thoughts and phrases, like, "I'm going to have long, gray hair and never dye it! I want to be all-natural as I age! La-di-da look at me." Pfft. Screw that. Professional hair colorings, botox, and eyelash extensions here I come.
My family has always been very youthful, spunky and--it seems to me--ageless. They all age well. I am feeling a bit left out of that trend on this birthday. I have no idea how old my aunts and uncles are and usually just imagine they are all around 25 (even though that would make them younger than me...) My grandma in particular has very good genes when it comes to aging. I shan't reveal ages, but for a grandma of grandma age, she's looking pretty fine.
A couple years back:
Now:
Absolutely stunning. She and my grandpa are serving a mission for the LDS Church right now, and up until that point, my grandpa worked every day on his beloved ranch. He even recently hiked the High Uintas with my brother and their trusty horses.
I have no doubt he will do it again when he returns. And this time my hair dye and I will be going along, trying to keep up ;)
Happy Birthday to me! Now that I am feeling better, I need to go get my beauty rest. I need it more than ever!
