Aging in Reverse

When I was 23 I was an old lady. Married, kids, stuck in suburbia, bored as hell, fat, schlumpy. Express and the Gap were high fashion in McHenry, you know. And anyway, when you're married who cares how you look?

Exhibit A:


Fredbeck just sent me this photo. It was taken during a company softball game 7 years ago. I'd just had Olivia, but who are we kidding - I carried that extra 40 pounds for another year or so. Also, note the Supercuts hairdon't and the Mom Jeans®.

God, is that really who I was? It must have been, but it seems so long ago it's hard to remember. I look at that picture and I wonder how I ever thought that could have been good enough for me. How I could have embraced this status quo, content to be the Average Suburban Housewife. But, you know, I guess I wasn't. You can't tell by looking at her, but the girl in this picture is starting to realize that this life is not what she ordered after all, that there are better things out there if she is willing to look for them. Inside, something is stirring. One day soon she will wake up and she will be ready. She'll make terrifying changes and bad decisions and leaps of blind faith.

And it'll be worth it.



EDITED TO ADD:

Wow, that was way too serious. Here's a picture of my bum.