Gracefully Aging? I think NOT!

Jonathan is so very good about reminding us of our age. In fact, I think he actually revels in the responses he gets so we are trying, ever so gently, to break him of the habit by not giving him any satisfaction. It isn't easy for us. I think he misses it. So this weekend he set his sights on a new victim. I mean, he decided to work a new crowd. Er, he decide to drive Auntie Diane nuts instead of us. She took the boys to her company picnic, the day after her birthday. Normally that wouldn't be an issue. But alas, every time someone asked her if she'd had a nice birthday, Jonathan would have to pipe up and say "Did you know she turned 50?" I can just hear the disbelief in his voice as he said it. As if to say "can you believe she's still standing on her own two feet, breathing without help and able to actually drive at that age???". Her saving grace was Matthew. It seems he managed to state that he didn't think she was a day over 30. Auntie Diane thinks he's angling for a great Christmas gift this year. He just might get it, too!

Age is a funny thing. As I get older I insist on coloring my hair. Not so frequently that you don't ever know I have gray hair, but often enough that I still look younger than my hair would lead you to believe if I didn't ever do it. Jonathan, surely one of the reasons my hair is so gray to begin with, insists on constantly reminding me that I'm moving ever closer to Auntie Diane's latest half century mark. He says things like "when you were playing with your pet dinosaur" and "must be hard for someone as old as you to _________", and it can be hard to resist the urge to slap him silly. Especially when you are feeling every bit of your age at that moment. And Don. He must endure the "geezer" comments every now and then. But then he's 51.

Aging means you sag in places you never sagged before, you gray in places you never dreamed (who knew your eyebrows would go gray????), your skin and hair goes all dry and obnoxious when you are used to an oily mess, and you lose the ability to read up close just when you find that you once again have the time in your life to actually read something! *sigh* Aging. The Lord indeed does have a sense of humor, doesn't he?

I've decided, that at least for the time being, I'll fight back for awhile. As previously stated, I color my hair. I'd hate for the kids to think their grandmother has come to live with them instead of their mother! I take vitamins(some to help with aging but we won't mention that), drink lots of water, and pray other areas stay nice and young-looking. I'm trying to eat more 'raw foods', and I actually take care of my skin better than I ever have. Not bad for a Mom who is finally taking stock of what good things she has left... I can only wonder what I'd look like if I decided to do these things as a preventative measure instead of a 'Hail Mary'.

But what I do know is that I've fallen in love with shampoo bars. Yes, I just said that. Shampoo BARS. All natural things. Lots of good, nourishing stuff and nothing I can't pronounce in them. After some research along with trial and error, I've discovered Ida at www.chagrinvalleysoapandcraft.com. She's a gem. And her products are, too. They may not be able to withstand Jonathan's barrage of comments, but they do help me feel like I'm doing what I can to take care of myself a bit better. After all, my hair has never looked better, and my skin isn't bad, either! Score one against aging!!!

Now, where did I put those reading glasses???