Yesterday I watched this woman on Oprah .I have long been a fan of hers not so much for her acting but her approach to life.She is Jamie Lee Curtis as I am sure most of you know.She will be 50 in November and she went on Oprah to talk about that and the fact the she was on the cover of AARP magazine recently.You can go to their website to read her interview.I really like her because she is who she is without hiding behind the mask of youth.I will be 44 this year and her words and philosophy toward aging really hit home with me.She said on the Oprah show that when she was on the show in her late 30's and she waved to the crowd that she could see on the video that the flab on her upper arms went one way and her arm the other. I can so identify with this and it gave me a laugh.I have those same upper arms.Jame Lee said that her dad was from Hungary and that she couldn't deny her genetics that being that she came from a line of solidly built sturdy women.I too come from that sort of lineage because no matter how much weight I lose I will never be dainty. I come from the farming stock of the British Isles and Eastern Europe with some Cherokee Indian thrown in for good measure so I look more like a stout farmwoman than a dainty city woman.
I am not against plastic surgery to correct health defects such as cleft lips, breast reductions and even tummy tucks etc if it makes you feel better about yourself. I know that if I had the money I would have breast reductions so my back wouldn't hurt so much as sometimes I feel like I carry around the prize winning watermelons at the county fair on my chest.LOL.I would also have laser hair removal of that hair you get in those unwanted places on your face and chin as you age.I do think that when you allow teenagers to get plastic surgery for cosmetic reasons when they are in their mid teens just to make them look more sexually attractive to boys that something is wrong with this picture.
In the interview Jamie Lee said that the few times that she has had plastic surgery early in her career that when she went to look in the mirror that the surgery didn't fix the problem because she still saw the same person staring back at her. I think that this is true with most all plastic surgery.I know that this is true in my on personal life.I have found that until you resolve the issues you have with your own self image and accept yourself that no amount of plastic surgery will solve this.
I am still at this place in my life.I work on it daily. In my early 30's and growing up I always felt ugly and to extent I still do. I know that a lot of it had to do with the male influences in my life growing up who told me that I was fat and ugly but finally just yesterday as I was taking a shower and looked in the mirror I thought to myself "Your not that bad Flabby Arms and Muffin Top and all".My husband thinks I am pretty and finally at almost 44 I am okay with that.
I find that as I age I am more confident with who I am and that I worry less and less about others opinions and learn more and more to listen to that voice within and live my own truth.
I am Okay just being me .
It is important to expect nothing, To take every experience,Including the negative ones,As merely steps on the path, And to proceed."Ram Dass
26 comments:
Isnt' it great to be ok with just being yourself? I started liking myself much more when I turned 40 and it just keeps getting better. I am now 57. I quit dying my hair when I turned 50 or 51(my husband kept prodding me to quit dying it) and I was so surprised at how many compliments I started getting on my gray hair (it isn't a dingy gray, more silvery with a little pepper still in it). I weigh more now than I ever have(I am not grossly overweight thank God) and yet I am still much more content with myself. I still want to lose weight, but now it is mainly for health reasons. I know it would be much better for my feet and back and heart. I want to be around to spend lots of time with my husband, my daughters and their families.
Here's to you learning to be ok with yourself! Keep it up!
I can so relate, Yolanda. I'm not all that huge, but most of my female cousins were petite, thin things, and I towered over them and outweighed them easily. I noticed the differences a lot in my teen years. I definitely have a farmer's body -- which is great, because my sturdiness doesn't let me down very often! I am learning to appreciate my body, too. Keep waving those flabby arms!
Oh Yolando, I'm 56 and you are so young...and guess what I have discovered that I am grateful for a man that thinks I'm his treasure I've also come to realize that I need to be real to my friends and daughters.
I Pray that my daughters and my younger friends will see me age gracefully so that they can see us as "Perfectly Imperfect"
I also appreciated your post called
Suspension. Well written and gave me lots to think about.
I feel way behind right now...and so I need to change some things.
I just turned 48 and can still ease into my yoga backbends and do some mean pull-ups. I take care of myself and just want to age gracefully and live a meaningful life. I'm with you on listening to that voice within, and I have happily grown into a woman who doesn't thrive on the opinions of others.
I find that the older I get the more comfortable I get with being me.
As a woman coming from strong, solid peasant stock, I say "Amen!" I just want to be me--me at every age, not the me I was at 18.
I'll be 50 in October and hope I'm living half as well as she...and loving it.
I wish I woul have seen her on Oprah. She does inspire me. I read the AARP article and others about JLC. What a good role model for her daughter. I am nine years older that you and resist looking in the mirror many days. My husband likes me the way I am also. It helps!
I love this post, Yolanda. I have come to that point where I am comfortable with myself also. Every hair no longer has to be in place. I will recommend this post to everyone I know. THanks for writing it.
YOU are beautiful
and I too enjoyed Jamie Lee courage to tell the world a truth it needs to hear.
warm hugs y,
xox d
I just turned 44.. I know that from which you speak :)
I can't do yoga, much less backwards.. things that make me go hmmm. oh well.
We're young, you and I .. we ARE.
I have declared it.
Happy day..!
I remember sometime in my late 40s I quit worrying as much about how I looked. I think we become more comfortable in our own skin as we hit true maturity.
(I know a few Cherokee women and I never met an unlovely one!)
Great post!
I have found age is a benefit in the self accpetance area. I am at peace with myself, on all levels. I wish my body was a little different, but surgery has decreed it won't be, & since the alternative was death, I will take what I have!
yes...it is such a relief to finally get comfortable in your own skin...Jamie Lee Curtis is a personal hero since she posed in More magazine pre and post makeup and clothes. I loved the AARP interview. She's fabulous...aren't we all???
I love this post! Ever since I was pregnant with my first child (16 years ago) a switch went off inside me and said it was ok to be me and to be happy with how I looked. Aside from wanting to loose a few pounds for health reasons (blood pressure and family history) I am comfortable in my own skin and like who I am. It feels so good to be like this, because I tortured my self esteem in my teens and 20's. This is such a better way to live!!!
XOXOX
You are you are you are! You are perfect the way you are right now. I'm sending you a big hug!
I am shocked in a way that she feels that way about her body considering she used to be a toothpick but I suppose after a certain age, we all become curvy Goddesses and what the heck is wrong with that?
I don't believe in telling people what they should do with their bodies but it does make me sad to see everyone going to a surgeon to change themselves instead of getting in touch with who they really are.
Thanks for this reminder. It makes me wish I had seen the show. I have definitely found in my experience that I am much more likely to take better care of myself when I am OK being me instead of judging myself.
what a glorious post. thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on a topic we all spend a LOT of time talking to ourselves about....and not always in the kindness fashion.
I have a lot that I would like to improve on when I look in the mirror...but when I look past the surface reflection I do love what I see. And I've come to accept that those people who also look past my surface and into the person that I am...are the ones I want around.
I'm going to be 52 in a few weeks. Wow! You seem young to me!
...If I want to feel young, I go and hang out with my 70-something friends...they're a lot of fun! And they think I'm just a baby.
hey blog pal, we're the same age :)
Great post, btw! :)
Thank you for posting this. I also admire JL Curtis for her healthy attitude towards growing older. I just celebrated my 50th (can NOT believe I am this old!!) and I hope to continue on with grace & dignity!
Melissa
What a wonderful post. It is great to be happy being who you are. Being happy in your own body is an awesome thing!! And how wonderful to be blessed with a husband who finds you to be beautiful.
AmyEllen
I appreciate this post...I too am getting ready to turn 44 and I am very comfortable in my imperfect body...but I will admit, it took me awhile to get here.
Jamie Lee Curtis as I am sure most of you know.She will be 50 in November
:-)
Age does not matter.
JLC is one of the most sexy women I know and the way she played against John Cleese in A fish called wanda and Fierce Creatures is wonderful
Absolutely right, Yolanda, it's so important to be comfortable in our own skin. I'm not there yet, but I'm beginning to relax.
And I'm so with you on the watermelons!! It would be great to buy just a normal-size bra. And the comments I used to get from boys when I hit puberty - scarred for life!!
Thanks for the inspiration, Yolanda! A great post and reminder. (Those words about being fat and ugly were the exact ones I heard growing up.Something I keep working on and I'm glad to know progress can be had.)
Take.good.care!
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