No, I did not wake up like this. And it didn’t happen overnight. The struggle is real when you are a woman over 50. The best you can do is accept it, fake it or forget it.
I would have chosen the first one but I'm not gonna lie denial is as real as my belly folds.
Then I thought about the next option. But... Nah! I realized that I can't get away with this anymore. I was forced to retire from this job of faking things up because the truth will always come out. Or will haunt me.
So, I totally picked the last choice not because I have to but because it is the most sensible thing to do. And yeah, forgetfulness is now part of being a Golden Girl.
I’m a late bloomer for as long as I can remember.
I started running at 46. At first, it was just to kill boredom. Then I enjoyed it. Next thing I know, I was running races - for real. The most memorable one I did was the Beach to Beacon. It was amazing how I managed to run 10 k without stopping and crawling and eventually crossing the finish line in less than an hour. It was a milestone for me.
Then I started practicing yoga at 49. It was more for de-stressing and decompressing. But I enjoyed it a lot. And here's the thing, when I like something so much I could go overboard with it so now I'm a Certified Yoga Teacher.
It's crazy, I know. But that's just me.
Then I started watching what I eat 3 years ago.
But before that, I was on a yo-yo diet. I probably tried every single one of those fad diets advertised and promoted by celebrities and on TV. Nothing really worked because it was a fad anyway.
Now, I only eat what makes me happy and full. I used to cook elaborate dishes because I wanted to blog about them. Then I started getting tired of taking photos of the food because they are a waste of my time (and got lazy blogging about it too). Instead of eating it while it's hot and fresh from the pan, I have to eat them cold because photography takes time.
Now the simplest food you can find in my lunch box for work is usually a plain greek yogurt with frozen blueberries drizzled with hemp seeds and sweetened with sugar-free sweetener. Yeah, most of the food I eat now doesn't need to be cooked and mostly bird foods.
Did I say I'm lazy?
Now, I eat to fuel and get the nutrients I need to be able to do what my body needs to do. There are lots of food that I have given up already like rice, pasta, and bread.
No, I'm not a vegetarian because I like my bacon. And I'm not vegan either for that matter too because I can't give up cheese and leather shoes yet.
I have made a lot of changes in my life both physically and emotionally. I made these changes for many reasons and reasons I don't even know. What I do know though is that since the changes I felt better inside and out.
No, it’s not for vanity but for health issues. However, despite all my effort to live a healthy lifestyle, there is something that I needed help with.... my skin.
Yah, one of the downsides of getting old is you need a lot of ffort to stay not only healthy but happy and interesting.
Since menopause is inevitable I needed help in the skin department. The loss of collagen, environmental exposures, and hormonal imbalance are just some of the fun things I need to deal with at my age (pun intended). I'm not a big fan of makeup but I do wear some depending on the mood.
Back then it was my secret weapon to get the attention of boys. It did work for a while but it didn't keep the boys' attention for long. LOL
Towards the end of my college year and when I was doing my thesis, makeup became a burden for me since I don't even have the time to even wash my face.
As I get older, there are times that I feel that I need to do a lot of things to keep me from feeling blah which is one of the side effects of aging. LOL
Then there is this great need to exert a lot of effort to keep thriving and to defend myself from aging. But why defend myself? Am I in some kind of a battle here?
I realized then that I treated aging as a disease.
Stupid me!
Aging is not that scary as I thought. Aging is not the start of dying and deterioration. It's the start of many new and beautiful things. It's the start of having a life of fulfillment.
It should be the beginning of new beginnings. Of being brave and courageous. Of being bold and fearless. Of being adventurous and daring.
Right now, my ultimate self-defense tools against the adversity of old age are my running shoes, yoga mat, vitamins, and Mother Nature.
And I'm good with aging!
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