Wrinkles

Good morning and happy Monday,

How is everyone doing today? I do hope you are well. Everything is good with me. Did you have a good weekend? Shoot me a text or drop a comment here and let me know, I love hearing from you. My weekend was a good one. Saturday I was invited to a BBQ at the lake and wow, it was amazing. Met some pretty amazing people and I got to talk to others who I have had the pleasure of getting to know over the last year. Sunday, I came down to San Diego and John and I went to lunch with our friends Art and Laura. I do love our friends. It’s always wonderful getting together with them

Today I wanted to chat about something all of us face as we grow in age, well, that is if we age without having tons of work done to ourselves, and that thing is, wrinkles. One of my favorite actresses is Meryl Streep. This woman plays so many incredible roles and for me, when I watch her, I forget she’s an actress. She’s so amazing at her career, it’s like her acting isn’t acting, it’s who she is in that role. I just love seeing her on the screen. Anyway, her being someone that I admire as an actress, it’s no surprise that when she writes an amazing quote, it would resonate with me. I came across something she said, and I just loved it, so I thought I’d share it.

“Let no one remove the wrinkles from my forehead, obtained through amazement at the beauty of life; or those of my mouth, which show how much I laughed and how much I kissed; nor the dark circles of my eyes: in them is the memory of how much I cried. They are mine and they are beautiful.”-Meryl Streep.

What a great way to not only accept the aging process, but to welcome it. I know for many of us, seeing those grays pop up and wrinkles settling in when we look in the mirror, we may wonder where time has gone. I know for me, when I look in the mirror, I sometimes am amazed that I am 54.

When I read the quote from Meryl Streep, I had to really reflect on her words and I came to the conclusion, how blessed I am to be 54. Sure, I have a couple of wrinkles and I have a gray hair or two underneath whatever color my hair may be, and that’s okay. I have aches and pains and I have a heart condition that sometimes takes over my day, and that’s okay. Sometimes I reminded of my age when I can’t breathe, because my heart is acting up, and that’s okay, because I am still here, and it’s my reminder that I have so many things I want to accomplish before I take my last breath.

The wrinkles I see truly do represent my journey. One thing I do want to change is the wrinkles around my mouth. I don’t have enough, which means, I haven’t laughed the way I should. I do have tons of dark circles and I’m gaining more and more wrinkles on my forehead which I am so grateful for, because I am finding so many amazing things in this wonderful universe of ours that I took for granted once upon a time not long ago.

I recall a time when I would look up at the sky and I would think how amazing it was, then I would start to minimize what I was seeing because I thought it wasn’t enough. I would look to this future paradise that I was taught so much about; I wasn’t able to appreciate what was already in front of me. This isn’t unusual for those of us raised in a cult, it is, or was our reality. I believe it was Lloyd Evans that I was recently listening to where he said in one of his YouTube videos, “everything you see in the JW videos, those are things that are obtainable today. The paradise videos are filmed in real locations.” How true that is. We don’t have to wait for some paradise that a religion/cult promises, we can enjoy those things now and sometimes those things are in our own backyards.

I spent so much of my life looking towards the future, I failed to live in the present, so I missed out on earning those wrinkles of laughter. One thing I’m so thankful for is how much John and I laugh. I’m a bit of a smart butt and I certainly do love hearing John laugh when I say something sassy to him. I want to laugh like he does. John’s laughter can light up a room. He’s just happy and he’s an example of how everyone should be. Looking to the positive instead of dwelling on the negative.

“Or those on my mouth, which show how much I laughed and how much I kissed.” I haven’t kissed many, but with John, I have kissed much. When those wrinkles decide to make themselves known, I’ll gladly accept them and how wonderful they’ll be, where everyone can see. Those wrinkles will be my badge of honor, showing I have laughed and kissed.

When you look in the mirror, what do you see? I hope one day we can all look at ourselves and embrace what is looking back, those beautiful wrinkles, because my dear readers, we have earned them, and they truly are beautiful. “Let no one remove the wrinkles.”

The beauty of life is accepting who we truly are, accepting the way we look, embracing how we are unique and wonderfully made.

Life is short, so it’s time to live it and as we wake up each day and look in the mirror, accept that amazing and wonderfully made human looking back at you, wrinkles and all.

I do have to say goodbye for now, however, I do hope you have the greatest of days and until next time, don’t forget, love life++