My Face Tells the Story



Maybe it is because I recently had another birthday. Not a milestone birthday, but I'm still another year older. Maybe I'm just a little vain. In either case, I looked at myself in the mirror recently. Not just the "does my hair look ok" or "does this dress make my butt look big" or "do I have on way too much makeup" quick glance, but I took a good long, close look at myself. Something I don’t do often. And I was thinking to myself: Here I am. At 31.

My body has changed considerably since carrying my baby inside of me a few years ago. My hair's texture has too. It is my natural color and I've accepted that. I don’t spend hours each day trying to style my hair in a way it doesn’t naturally want to as I realized there are better ways to spend that time.

And my face...it's older. The dark circles are there from staying up too late: cleaning, rocking my little girl, reading books, blogging, creating things, spending time with my husband, and having those incredible conversations that seems so much more apt to happen in the hours long after you should have been asleep.

The creases (ok, the wrinkles) are there and there to stay. When exactly did that happen? Yes, I noticed them a few years ago when I traded in my tanning lotions for anti-aging creams with SPF... But this time I noticed a few more...the crease wrinkle in my forehead that is even more prominent when I worry, am running hard, thinking hard. The creases at the corners of my mouth that are ever present when I think, read or type...my face showing the emotion of me just being.  And my eyes. The creases there (sometimes called crow's feet) that I refer to as my "story lines."  They tell the story of my life. The creases are there when I smile those big smiles that are reserved for those BIG moments in life and when I laugh, which I do often. The creases are also there when I'm stressed, feel pain and sadness, and when I am overcome with compassion for others. I am terrible at hiding my feelings. I always have been. My face tells the story of exactly what I am thinking and feeling at any moment in time. I am animated when I speak, sing and laugh.  Often, I come across a photograph that has been taken of me and feel the expression that can be seen on my face. My face tells the story of all of those moments. And I would not trade those creases for life experiences. I like my story.



via Real Simple

~Angela