“I may look old on the outside but I still feel like little Charlie on the inside.”  My dad’s observation on growing old.  He’s been gone for 28 years now but I clearly remember his words and I’m experiencing the same surprise when I look in the mirror.

Next month I will turn SIXTY years old . . . I know, right?  As I enter this Autumn season of life I wonder, where DID the time go?  Sometimes I’m amazed when I observe the lines on my face, the crepey skin on my arms and legs, and the way my skin shifts on my bones!  It can make me thankful that my eyesight, and my husband’s, isn’t as good as it used to be.

Standing outside chatting with a friend after Bible study on Wednesday we talked about the reunion I attended last weekend with my husband, and the stress I felt over meeting his former classmates and their wives.  I wanted to make my husband proud to be married to me.  I already know he’s proud of who I am on the inside but my outside isn’t exactly what it was when we married.

Now before you say to me, “You look great!”, realize that “great” is a matter of perspective.  I’m getting older and I know that I don’t look or feel as great as I did when I was younger.  Growing up my family placed huge import on looking good so it’s natural that I filter everything through that upbringing.

Getting ready for the reunion it was fun to put on a fancyish dress and pretty heels with hopes of stunning Mr. OTN with my beauty (LOL!).  It was a slimming black dress, shirred around the middle to (almost) hide the lumps and bumps that characterize my midsection.

Dressing up became a little less fun when I put on my hose (something I haven’t worn in ages) and realized that my slippery silk stockings caused me to walk right out of my high heels.  We made a quick detour on the way to dinner to pick up some anti-slip shoe inserts.  While at the store I also picked up a pair of L’eggs pantyhose to replace my more expensive stockings that had a fight in the car with the velcro on my camera bag!

That was just the beginning of the evening which I survived by not walking around too much (the anti-slip inserts failed), taking my shoes off under to table (to relieve the blisters that quickly bubbled up), and making light of my advanced age with the wives that were clearly younger versions of me – the doctor’s wife – or, if not younger, were married to the plastic surgeons in the group!  Okay yes, there were some wives who were right there with me in this beautiful Autumn season of life and they looked great!

Anyhoo, back to my friend in the parking lot at church.  As we talked she shared with me that she absolutely loves this season of life.  This spunky and vibrant new friend of mine (who is a little bit younger than I am) has chosen to enjoy life right where she is.  I admire her attitude as I see so many in our baby boomer age group fighting hard to retain our youth.

Most of the time I’m fine with where I am in life . . . especially in jeans and a pretty top.  It’s the form fitting dresses that remind me of the changes in my body, and the uncomfortable high heels that hurt like they never did when I was young (how does Katie Couric pull that off?) that really get to me and don’t seem to mesh with my more youthful state of mind.

There is so much that is good about this time of life.  This Autumn season brings me into a quieter life than I once lived.  The striving that went along with a career and raising a family is gone, I have more time to pursue the things that make me happy, I can pour more into my relationship with my husband now as we explore new places together, and I’ve learned some life lessons that I can hopefully pass on to others . . .

. . . and though I have a few more aches and pains in my body I am committed to staying strong so I can enjoy this season of life to the fullest.

I Thess. 5:18 says it is God’s will that we give thanks in all things, even growing older!  So in spite of a little kicking against this aging thing that’s happening to me, I am grateful to God for this path we’ve traveled together.  Sometimes, to be sure, I’ve stepped off His path for me yet He’s stayed beside me nonetheless.  I can honestly say that I’m thankful for the rough patches of my life (Mr. OTN always says he’s thankful for everything . . . eventually) as they’ve made me who I am today.

Proverbs 31:25 says of the godly woman that she, “is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.”

Wow!  I like that.  We can’t change the seasons of our lives so we might as well do our best to enjoy them . . . or laugh about the things we can’t enjoy so much.  Frankly, all them there wrinkles deserve a good laugh!

Ageing is one of those things we simply cannot change and I believe that acceptance and thankfulness are keys to living happy in any season of life.  So, in this Autumn of my life I will choose (from inside my home) to relish the rain that runs in rivers down my window panes, the breeze that blows golden leaves in circles round my yard, and the chill that makes it a pleasure to sit today beside a warm fire.

Haha!  The forecast is changing on Tuesday and we’ll be back to sunny and 70’s, which I LOVE, so it is actually pretty easy for me to make the most of today 🙂

 

Tell me now, what season of life are you in?  What do you do to make the most of this life you’ve been given?  And what are your favorite things about the Autumn season?

 

Blessings y’all from your young on the inside and (a little) old on the outside friend,