Aging, Part 2

It’s time to impart more wisdom and observations.

Ha. That’s a good one.

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1. Marriage is hard work, y’all. My cousin-in-law surveyed a lot of couples who’s marriages were of varying length (but at least 20 years) before she got married. She said almost all of them said the “teen years” of the marriage were the hardest. We are in the teen years so I can’t make that definitive statement yet, but I believe it. It’s typically the season of life where the kids are the hardest, the finances are the tightest, and the exhaustion and stress levels are the highest.
BUT.
The kids are the funnest. The finances are…well they are tight but that encourages budgeting and responsibility. And creativity. The exhaustion and stress just encourages prayer and faith. So in a way, they are good things. Right? HA

2. Get a hairdresser that is younger than you. That way her style ideas are more current and she won’t likely die before you.

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3. Find the courage to get up early and exercise. This has been a GAME CHANGER for me. At the beginning of March, I committed to getting up at 4:30 every morning and going to an exercise class from 5-6….and I love it. No one is more shocked than I am. When you go that early, it’s like it never happened, but eventually you will be able to see that it is indeed happening. Also, stretch. Stretch a lot. Your older self will thank you for it.

4. Learn to chill out and shut up. Those two things will take you far in this life. (So I hear. I haven’t actually experienced this because I am often up tight and mouthy. But I can see how it’s true.)

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Ok, all this wisdom thinking is making my brain tired. I’m going to take a nap.

 

Also, nap. A lot. It’s pretty much the best thing you can ever do, always, all the time, forever.

(And then get your vitamin D checked because you really shouldn’t need to sleep that much.)

 

The End

Originally Written On a Friday

I heard this joke this morning on The Phil Harris and Alice Faye Show.

Phil, speaking in reference to his good looks:
“Just look at this firm chin.”

Alice:
“Looks like that firm has some partners.”

I might have laughed too hard at that one.

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Do you find yourself totally gravitating towards a certain fashion style? Like, stripes forever and ever. And you buy the pieces and confidently wear them for a few years. But then one day you wake up and nothing works. Nothing is flattering. (I accidentally typed fatterring. Interesting typo for this topic….) Nothing makes you feel confident and everything just doesn’t work anymore. Has that ever happened to you? That’s where I am right now. What causes that? It worked yesterday. Why isn’t it working today?

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I feel like I’m at a crucial point in my life where I have to commit one way or the other. WILL I BE A MEAL PLANNER OR WILL I FINALLY WAVE THE WHITE FLAG OF DEFEAT? Right now, I just buy the things I know I can cook and I wing each meal. And it works for us. But everything on every blog and every website says I must meal plan to be efficient and save money and earn a housewife badge of honor.

The few times I actually shopped from a grocery list made from a meal plan, I spent a ton more money than usual and we ended up not eating half of the items. Yet I still struggle with the idea so much. Where are my other non-meal planning women? You do exist, right? Please tell me I’m not the only one and that I don’t have to change my ways.

I NEED SOLIDARITY IN MY LIFE.

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Guess what. My body doesn’t like to absorb vitamin D. So I have to take an insane amount of it in a pill form or I look like Nora in the above picture all day long. The doctor feels like we’ve solved the issue. I’m deficient so I take it regularly. But here’s what I want to know: WHY did my body stop absorbing vitamin D from the normal/natural ways of intake? I feel like that’s the real problem and no one seems interested in solving that one.  Feel free to diagnose the real problem.

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So who wants to be my meal planning fairy? I’m accepting applications now.

 

 

 

Aging, Part 1

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My 30s are swiftly gathering dust behind me. I have 2 years, 4 months, and 13 days left before crossing over to the land of bad eyesight, hair dye, and crow’s feet. What did I learn (am still learning) in this decade? Well let’s talk about it.

Warning: there are a lot of ALL CAPS in the following sentences. I can’t help it. I have very strong feelings.

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1. The gray hair creeps in when you aren’t looking. Now, I lasted longer than any of my friends and I GIVE THANKS for that, but at least once a week I have to do a detailed hair comb equal to the one you do when you’re searching for lice, and I CANNOT FORGET to check for the super ambitious, super long, super sneaky gray eyebrow hair (YES. you read that right. EYEBROW HAIR) that appears within one hour’s time. Seriously. One morning, I was examining my eyebrows while I brushed my teeth, and an hour later I thought there was a loose hair trying to get in my eye. NOPE. That little rascal had popped out and was over an inch long. I am not exaggerating. Truly. I’m not. How does that even happen?! And I used to give Jason a hard time about his wild and unruly old-man eyebrows.

 

2. Teenagers are fun. And exhausting. And dramatic. And mouthy. And super helpful. I can just leave the house when I want. It’s MIND BLOWING. I can just run errands and not bother packing everyone up in the car, double checking to make sure all have shoes, semi-brushed hair, pants, etc… I mean, what a life. I am so spoiled.

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3. Working away from home is for the birds Well, in one way. In another way, it brings a few moments of peace and quiet into my day three times a week., and I can deal with that.

4. That whole “through sickness and through health” phrase really starts to play a role. Jason’s Lyme disease has really been a booger these past couple of years. And there isn’t a guarantee it will get much better. Definitely has a good chance of getting worse.

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5. New levels of stress are introduced. See #4

6. Facial skin doesn’t stay tight. Young girls, do yourself a favor and start those skin firming rituals now. You’ll be glad you did. I don’t have any wrinkles…yet… but the ol’ facial skin is just saggy. When I put on eyeshadow, my eyelid slides from side to side. It’s GROSS.

7. Prayer is vital and life is way harder than you expected. By this age, divorce, cancer or other sicknesses, loss of children, unexpected loss of spouses, etc…have crept in to your life or the lives of your friends and family. Sometimes, oftentimes, prayer is the one thing that keeps you going. The one thing you can offer when your own life is having major trials. Learn to pray. Cling to God. Come BOLDLY before the throne, praising Him for your blessings and telling Him your needs.

8. Find your clan. Now for some, that may just be one person, but for me, I need the support and friendship of many. Surprisingly, this one kind of merges with #2. A lot of my very close friends are the mothers of my children’s best friends. Embrace the new friendships that emerge through adulthood. They can be the best ones yet.

9. Get yourself a pedicure every now and then. The world will thank you. Also, shaving your legs everyday is overrated. Every other day will certainly suffice.

10. Don’t tan. DON’T.

11. Your wedding is SO not as big of a “thing” as you think it is. Your marriage is a big deal, the wedding is not. Save your energy and finances for something that plays a larger role in your life. I promise you won’t regret it. Also, stay out of debt.

And that’s all I have for now. I actually had some great thoughts on Wednesday that I wanted to share but I didn’t write them down and now they are lost forever.

Unless I think of them again.