What do you see when you look in the mirror? If you're a woman, do you see the young lass you were? Do you see wrinkles and age marks? Do you see your mother looking back at your through your own eyes? I see all this and more.
At one time, I was a young lass. We were all young lasses, but for me that was a few decades ago. I had long, and I mean, long dark hair, was skinny as a fence post, and flat chested as the proverbial pancake. At some point along around the end of the 70s, I cut my hair and permed it to a shoulder-length mop. Yes, this was me circa 1980.
I remember that young woman. I liked her. She had spunk, sassiness and the guts to pose in a bikini. She's still inside me, but the outer shell is a bit changed.
I look in the mirror today and see a few character lines. I do NOT have wrinkles. My hair is white, mostly, and permed. When I compare the me of now and the me of then, I see the same eyes and smile. I kinda like both. Today I see a woman who is pretty darned sure of herself, who has spunk and sassiness, and the wisdom to avoid bikinis like the plague.
I also see my mother looking back at me. Mini-Mommy, as she was know to all my friends (she was barely 5'1" where I was 5'8"), had the greatest giggly-laugh. She loved nothing more than a funny joke, a good book, and terrific conversation. She taught me to listen, think, and then speak, a lesson I generally tend to ignore. I don't often think before I run my mouth, but that might be a topic for a different blog post.
The point here is, we are all of our experiences. We are our mothers. We are our sisters and cousins. Part of our young-lass self still lives inside the older and hopefully wiser current self. Both selves make us who we are today.
The naysayers, those who would diminish our value through put-downs and bullying, have no place in our circles of friends. We need to look in the mirror for a different image, the one where we are fearless inside. The classic Facebook meme to the left is what we should see when we look in the mirror. Brave. Strong. Willing to look the world in the eye and roar.
I like the young-lass me. I like the worldly me. I like the me my mother helped form. And I like the lion me.
Which one are you?
###
Betsy Ashton is the author of Mad Max, Unintended Consequences, and Uncharted Territory, A Mad Max Mystery, now available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
6 comments:
Fantastic post, Betsy. You've given me much to think about.
From someone who is being dragged kicking and screaming into the older me, I enjoyed your post. I really need to find that spirit. Thanks, Betsy.
EXCELLENT! Exactly what I needed. I'm in the process of going 'natural' hair color-wise. Still kind of a shock every time I look in the mirror. Character, huh? You got it!
At 53, I'm not ready to embrace the old me yet. I'm still shocked when the shorts I've had in my closet for 20 years are too tight. The hair between dye-jobs is grayer all the time. Yikes! But, I'm stronger and more confident than I was when the hair was browner and the shorts looser. That part is the reward. Great post, Betsy!
I'm glad I gave each of you something to think about. We may grow older but we never have to grow up.
Great post, Betsy. I avoid mirrors. LOL But every once in a while, when I do look in one, I see my mom and her mother. I like the me I am now but wish I had the body I had forty years ago. Oh, well . . . Can't have everything.
Post a Comment