The other day I was thinking about how amazing it is that we start out as tiny babies and then we grow. To think of our bones and skin growing with us is to contemplate a miracle that is hard to fathom. On this subject, I thought maybe if we were born with our adult amount of skin then we could grow into it and as we got older we wouldn't have to worry about sagging or bagging or wrinkles...But that would make for scary babies and if we lived to be real old our skin would fit us like shrink wrap! I find some of my clothes fitting me more snugly than I would like (I now look for a balance between just tight enough to stop jiggles but not tight enough to show bulges--the age of control top pantyhose and loose fitting jeans) but at least my skin isn't too tight so at least in that respect you could say I feel comfortable in my own skin.
I had the great privilege of holding a newborn baby yesterday. His mother commented on how with his receding hairline and wrinkliness he looked like a little old man. Since he is so cute she wondered if he would be a cute old man. In the full circle of life old people and new people (babies) have quite a few commonalities. However, no one refers to the 'fuzz' on an old man's head as cute or pinches a grownup's chubby cheeks with delight. I have never heard someone comment on how adorable the rolls and folds are above a grown woman's knees or seen anyone lovingly tickle an adult double chin. Babies just don't know how much they should cherish compliments people give them for being chubby and bald.
I saw a sweet lady the other day whose face was covered with deep wrinkles. I tried to mentally smooth them out to imagine what she looked like when she was younger. I decided she was probably quite striking looking. Should we look past our wrinkles or at them? We have all seen how unreal people look who try to smooth them out. They look uncomfortable in their skin!
Random thoughts: Our bodies over time can become like a favorite pair of pants--they lose a little of their original shape through lots of wash and wear but they become more comfortable.
Those of us who have given birth have stretch marks. Mine are probably worse than some but I never really liked bikinis so I really don't worry about my stretch marks. My husband refers to them as battle scars. I got them doing something brave and noble. Perhaps we would think more kindly of crows feet and laugh lines if we thought of getting them by having given birth to a lot of smiles and laughs over the years.
What's the view from your window?
