Monday 7 July 2008

Growing Old Gracefully

I have been taking a lot of photos in the last few months, one if the interesting this about seeing yourself in a photo is that you are often caught at angles you don't normally see, you haven't had a chance to preen and adjust your posture the way you do when you look in the mirror.

I have noticed in these photos that my face is showing signs of looking older and my body is showing signs of having been pregnant twice.

I have a few wrinkles coming in around my eyes and forehead, I am starting to see the familiar signs of the family double chin and spare tire.  My boobs have been affected by gravity and breast feeding two children.  All in all my body does not look as young or supple or lean as it did just 4 years ago. 

Its interesting as a woman to think about how far I am willing to go to feel good about my face and body, my ideals about cosmetic surgery and growing old gracefully start to come under scrutiny. 

Would I have botox, or a chin lift, a boob lift, chemical peel, or liposuction.  The answer used to be an unequivocal no, but these days saying no means something else, because I have started down the aging path and this is just the beginning.

I do believe in accepting the way my body changes and as long as I am staying healthy, keeping my weight under control and looking after my skin then the rest is just the way my life will write its story on my body, but learning how to accept the reality of aging, THAT will be an interesting process.

So as I look at these photos and see the story my life has taken on my body so far I wonder how cool headed and certain I will feel about my 'growing old gracefully' stance and how will I learn to accept the thing I don't like about the way my body is changing?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Actually, what I like about that photo--in which you don't look particularly old, frankly--is Hamish's "And you are?" expression.

Seriously? Do whatever you want to do to feel good about yourself. And I know this is just speculation at this point.

But, if I can offer an unsolicited opinion that you can and should ignore entirely, not Botox.

I have wrinkles--of course, I am older than you.

;)

But, really, they're mostly laughter lines. (And the ones on my forehead are bemusement lines.)

But (in my opinion) any amount of wrinkles are better than frozen Botox forehead.

Buffy Stun-Hers said...

Well you didn't actually think I'd put one of the photos were I look awful on my blog :)

And I totally agree, botox is not for me. Mind u that chin lift to save me from a turkey neck could be tempting xx

Anonymous said...

I'd be astonished if there's a single photograph of you in existence where you look awful--you're photogenic in a way I never have been.

Remember you once gave me a photograph on the grounds that it was a good one of me (it is) but a terrible one of you? People keep walking up to it and saying, "Eh, that's a good photo of your friend!"

At some point, you'll have to show me these mythical "bad photos" of which you speak. But not, I agree, on the blog.

Buffy Stun-Hers said...

And that's reason 141 why I love you. Thanks babe, but I think you might be living on a different planet to me, I often think you are the more photographic one xx grass greener and all that I guess xx

Anonymous said...

141 of how many? (I need to know how much catching up I have to do.)

Buffy Stun-Hers said...

150!
Number 1 is watched rollerboogy multiple times
Number 150 is calls me to tell me about Buffy comics.

There are so many thing in my life that only you can provide xx

Anonymous said...

Ditto. But then you knew that already.

(Oh, ew--now I feel like Patrick Swayze in Ghost. Oh, that's not a good feeling.)

But I stand by my comment.

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