A Month of Gratitude, Day 20 - My Healthy Body

Friday, December 20, 2013
From a self-image perspective, it's not easy being a middle-aged woman in American culture. We have a tendency to value youth, beauty, and thin bodies in women, to the point where the contributions and skills of middle-aged and senior women are often discounted based on their physical appearance.

I try to guard against judging myself against the skewed societal norms that govern the way middle-aged women are viewed in this country. I try to look at my worth as a person holistically, taking into account my intellect, my values, and my behavior when I examine my worth - after all, being attractive does not make me a better person or a better engineer. But those nasty little voices still have a tendency to creep in, telling me that I'm not as worthy as I once was, because I'm not as hot as I once was. Stupid voices.

One of the ways in which I'm trying to guard against placing too much value on my personal appearance is by reminding myself that even though I'm not as attractive as I was twenty years ago, my body is much healthier than it was then. I no longer smoke. I exercise on a regular basis. I'm much more conscientious about what I eat. Even though I'm overweight, my metabolic health is the best it's ever been.

In spite of the normal vagaries of middle age, my body is healthy. It works. It's strong. It allows me to do the things I want to do. It has stood me in good stead, in spite of the abuse it took when I was younger.

Today I'm grateful for my healthy body.

But I'm still giving myself a lower face lift for my 50th birthday. Because as Nora Ephron noted, I feel bad about my neck. 

2 comments:

The Mechanicky Gal said...

I'll come nurse you when you have your "procedure"!

Janiece said...

See, that's why I love The Mechanicky Gal best.