I've been lucky. Ok, I have been DAMN lucky..my body is basically the same way it was when I was younger (add about 25 lbs; I was toooooo skinny), and I still am somewhat toned, although certainly not the way I used to be. And that is OK. One does change when they get older; things shift and droop or drop a bit, and it really shouldn't be a huge cause for alarm. It is just the passage of time. I call it Body Wisdom.

I have friends who are OBSESSED with their weight. I don't mean slightly obsessed - I mean OBSESSED, CONSUMED, HYSTERICAL if they've gained a pound or two, or three or ten or maybe even twenty. I had one friend (key word here is: HAD --we aren't friends anymore, Thank God.) whose sole focus in life was her weight.  Every time (and I mean EVERY TIME) she gained weight, she would become hysterical that she didn't weigh 115 lbs as she did when she was 15 years old. Well, who the hell DOES at 50 and two kids later, I ask? She expected to, and she would go on and off Weight Watchers like it was going out of style. It drove me freaking nuts to hear her whine about this. I could be hanging off the end of the latest rope I was hanging on, and she would call to cry about how she gained weight.  OY! I was nice about it, but I'd roll my eyes towards my head because it really was....annoying....and sad, terribly sad...that she was consumed by this. She never could accept herself and probably never will.

I have another friend who still is trying to convince me that she REALLY IS A BLONDE (with lighter hair than my own dark ash blonde) even though I have photos proving she was a brunette. Blonde, Brunette, Redhead..who cares! It's just a color. Hell, I have this three inch streak of pure white hair in the front of my scalp (right side) that is VERY noticeable. I love it because it is so striking and people often ask me if I dye it. I don't. It's a family trait. Once every 2 or 3 years I do go on a higlighting binge, or I will perm my hair, but generally I prefer to go au natural.

Am I as thin as I used to be? God no. Thankfully. I am heavier of course, but I don't look anorexically thin as I did in high school or college. I have a shape now as opposed to being gaunt and far too angular for comfort like I was then. At least I have boobs, now. Would I like to be thinner? Sometimes, but I don't go on crash diets and starve myself. I eat differently and any pounds I have start coming off naturally and slowly. I should exercise more, and not just because of weight, but also because of my knee arthritis and things like that.

Yes, things fall, and yes things droop...but here is the thing...I feel more beautiful now than ever  and it is because of one tiny thing....

SELF  CONFIDENCE

and that is the bottom line.