Heading South
by Lauren Dance (Founder of the The Grey Beaver Club)
I love to travel. It has become a very expensive addiction, really. My husband and I look forward with great anticipation to every opportunity we get to head south to those indescribable blue waters where the scuba boat awaits. The salty wind, the coral reefs, and the beautiful peace that comes from being somewhere completely different from normal is probably the reason for the addiction. Recently, I was telling a friend that we were thinking of heading south to Cozumel soon for a vacation, and she sighed heavily and asked if she could come along in my suitcase.
It got me to thinking about the phrase “heading south”, and the positive and negative connotations associated therein.
Birds fly south for winter, and so do many people. Heading south for a vacation almost always means someplace warmer and much more exotic, an escape from ordinary life.
Stock that has a sudden decrease in value is said to have headed south. So, what does that mean when parts of my body are spiraling downward at a rate I have no control over? Does that mean that I have decreased in value as well? Hmmmmm…..
As women, we are bombarded through the media that perky and perfect are the norm, and if our once “perky parts” are now resting on the top of our bellies, there must be something wrong. I will resist this way of thinking. Just as I have always considered the stretch marks from my children badges of honor, I will support all my sagging with positive remarks in front of the mirror and a really great bra.
If you’ve ever seen an older woman with really great breasts (that are REAL), albeit they are probably a bit lower on her chest than they were in her twenties, there is something very voluptuous and sexy about the way her body looks. And by the way, I don’t think there is anything wrong with telling a woman that she looks great. In fact, I think as womankind, it is our duty to make each other feel beautiful, because the media certainly isn’t going to pat us on the back and say, “Way to breastfeed three children! Wow! Those boobs rolled up into your bra look FABULOUS now!”
If we all began to look at our bodies heading south the same way we looked at a vacation to Cozumel, I’m sure we as a collective group of women could probably figure out how to reverse the law of gravity, that’s how much extra time our brains would have to concentrate on other matters!
Let us each find that beautiful peace that comes from being somewhere totally different than we have ever been, and be happy and content with whatever direction we are headed.
“I look forward to being older, when what you look like becomes less and less an issue and what you are is the point.”--Susan Sarandon
Lauren Dance is the owner of The Gray Beaver Club,
an online retail store that sells fabulous gifts for
friends over forty. She is very passionate about
finding humor in the aging process, and feels strongly
that surrounding yourself with great friends is the best
way to happily navigate yourself through this crazy
journey we call life!
Visit www.thegraybeaverclub.com to purchase gifts that are actually funny!
Welcome to The Gray Beaver Club….one year closer to dyeing…
