Gravity is a man

There was a middle aged woman in my mirror this morning. That was unsettling.
I attained my 40th birthday this Summer with a sense of accomplishment and optimism. Tim smuggly informed me that "the wheels come off at 40," which I took to be an amusing colloquialism, and not a resounding gong of certain forboding. Alas. Who knew the reality would begin immediately?

So, there I stood, confronting that middle aged reflection.
It needed makeup, badly. But not too much makeup, because makeup gets caked in the creases.
And, it needed support. 40 means that there is a redistribution of available self to puzzling, and sometimes alarming, areas. Take, for instance, back fat. This phenomeonon has nothing to do with over-weight, and everything to do with over-40. It is, in my opinion, unkind.
So far, my neck has stayed smooth, though I expect that will change. And my upper arms don't yet waggle. But there's a drooping atop the knees that brings to mind an elephant. There's other droopings, too. I honestly think that Gravity is a man because it's persistant, reckless, and its had its hands all over every woman I know.

I read somewhere, years ago, that older women are more sexy and confident. I think this is true. It may be self-delusional because our eyesight is going. Maybe it's the lack of a memory. Perhaps it's that everyone around is also aging, and I no longer compare myself to fasion models and celebreties.
I think it's got a lot to do with a better knowing of one's self. I'm a lot more comfortable in my own skin, and I'm much easier in my expectations of what I ought to be. Heck, if my jeans fit without a muffin-top, I'm having a good day.

If you look closely at the teenagers and the covers of your magazines, you see hungry girls who aren't ever sure if they're pretty enough. You see tiny waists, and smaller minds. You see a future that will take their bodies just where mine's a-goin.'
The defining factors, though, are those things you can't see. A pretty face certianly doesn't make a woman kind, and I suspect great legs won't make her sexy.

My momma's 60, and she's dang hot. It's mostly because she's a good woman, with a kind heart, and also great hair. Maybe great hair is the secret.

Whatever the secret, I think I'm middle aged now. I'll keep you abreast (if I can keep one at all) of the changes as they manifest. I know you're just dying to hear.