Wrinkles and White Hairs

I’ve had wrinkles around my mouth and my eyes for a few years already. I like to call them my smile lines.

I also have a line between my brows that I’ve had for a really long time. I call that one my worry line. I’m guessing it started showing in my early teens.

Last year I discovered my first white hair. We gingers usually go white instead of grey, and now it’s my turn to get the same change as Gandalf!

I told my grandmother on my dad’s side about my discovery last year, and she (who’s also a ginger) told me that by the time she turned 35, she had quite a lot of white hairs.

So what do I think about my signs of aging?

I’m all here for it! In a world where people spend a crazy amount of time and money trying to look younger than they are, so many have forgotten about what a privilege it is to be allowed to get older.

There are so many out there who aren’t that lucky.  

Every day young people are robbed from the opportunity of growing older. Some by accidents, some by illness, some by cruelty, and some by their own hands. We tend to forget the fact that every second that we live and breathe here on this planet, is nothing short of a bloody miracle!

I know that we all have hard days. Tough days where words like privilege, grateful and miracle don’t even come close to what we are really feeling. But even those days are days where we grow and are lucky to have the opportunity to learn from.

I see countless bloggers, YouTubers, and influencers who are trying to convince other women and men to get treatments for the signs of aging. I’m not here to try to do the same. I’m here to encourage you to see those signs as beauty and not flaws. What you choose to spend your time and money on is entirely up to you. Your body, your choice!

How lucky am I to have smiled so much throughout my life that the markings of them are permanently on my face for the world to see. What an interesting and eventful life I’ve had so far, and the worry line between my brows is one of the many proofs of the moments and hurdles that I’ve had to overcome.

I’m so blessed to be able to grow older and get white hair while I can watch my son becoming more and more of a little man. I’ve gotten to grow older with fantastic friends and wonderful family.

I still get to learn new things every day! How lucky I am! It’s enough to make my eyes water just to think about the fact that I’ve been so lucky to be able to live for as long as I have and experience the things that I’ve done. I can only hope that my journey will continue for many more years.

I think we all need to remind ourselves of this more often, myself included.

In a world where we are constantly bombarded with the message that we have to look like we never eat, we exercise all the time, while we live a fabulous life globetrotting the world and never aging a day, it’s hard to lose focus of what really matters, and just how lucky we often are.

Don’t let the media fool you into chasing an unrealistic beauty ideal or means to happiness. You are a freaking wonder; wrinkles, grey/white hairs, bumps and all! ❤️

The Lost Sound

She sat on the porch and looked out over the big garden that stretched all the way down to the river that slowly passed by. Hopeful and waiting she studied each meter, but mostly she listened. Her ears were searching for that sound that had been with her for as long as she could remember. The one that made the green grass and the dancing river feel like her home. Minutes passed in silence, and every second that turned up without the sound seemed like a tiny eternity of something lost.

She wished for it to not be gone. For that day to turn over into the next where she would hear it again. Deep down though, she knew it had nothing to do with which day she listened for it. The silence had been there for days. Suddenly one morning it had just disappeared. She waited impatiently for it to return, but was waiting for something that never would be more than a memory.

A silent drop of salt water rolled down her cheek as she came to terms with the truth. She had grown older and ageing had robbed her.

She would never hear the crickets sing again.

©Christina de Vries

 

How To Age Gracefully