Last night I went to a town meeting, and then a bunch of people went out for drinks afterward.
We went to a Mexican restaurant, and I had completely forgotten that it was Cinco de Mayo (so if you saw pictures on Facebook of moms serving little Cinco de Mayo lunches to their kids and felt bad, don’t worry. I was right there with you. We had peanut butter and honey for lunch).
Anyway, the place was packed.
With like four hundred twenty-one-year-olds.
I’m pretty sure I was the oldest person in the entire place.
And I’m not kidding.
Every person I looked at I thought to myself, I could be his mom.
And his.
And hers.
And theirs.
There were backward baseball hats and midriffs and skirts that should have been illegal everywhere.
The difference between the skin tight hoochie dresses and the mom shirt I was wearing were glaring.
Twenty years ago I would have compared myself to every girl that was there.
But not last night.
I definitely look older than I used to.
I’ve got more a lot more wrinkles, a few more pounds, and parts of me have headed south.
And not for the winter.
Forever.
I don’t really feel older on the inside, though.
I don’t feel like a forty-five-year old.
I still feel like I’m in my twenties.
No, I wasn’t tearing it up on the dance floor.
Nobody was really checking me out.
But I had just come from the first town meeting I had ever attended.
I felt informed and educated and aware and responsible.
I still feel the same on the inside as I did when I was twenty-five.
Except now I’m much wiser.
And calmer.
And happier.
I’m finally comfortable in my own skin. Truly.
Those hoochies at the bar may be young and tight and wrinkle free.
But that’s just the shell.
While I have a little mileage on me, I really feel like I’m just hitting my prime.
Sure, the wrapper on the outside my be a little wrinkled, but for the first time ever, I feel like the total package.
And that feels pretty good.
Thank you for making me Number 1!
Please keep voting!
Click on the banner below and you have registered your vote for me!
You looked great at the town meeting…fit and fabulous! You should be proud of your accomplishments Susie.
I can relate to this. I’m 48. I would not want to be younger, the wisdom we have gained is invaluable. Plus, I would not want to go through some of the growing pains and heartache again…unless I could take the wisdom with me. I do look at kids now and think, “Oh my gosh, are they even old enough to be driving?” Everyone looks so young.
Great post! I feel like that with my friends that aren’t moms yet (to an extent). There’s such a big learning gap between the years before I was a mom and now!
Best. Cassidy
Tuesdaystantrum.blogspot.com