GRANDMA, WHY DO YOU LOOK SO DIFFERENT?

Selfie April 2023

I love technology for allowing me to see my grandchildren face to face even when they are hours away. My youngest grandson has been video chatting me often, This is one of my favorite joys. I'm not sure if it is because he misses me or likes playing with the fun filters, but it doesn't matter to me. I'm in Grandma paradise. 

He asked me an interesting question the other day. 

    "Grandma, why do you look so different?"

Oh darlin', let me count the ways! Could he see the pounds I've packed on the past two years? Or maybe the gray that is taking up more space on my head than my brown hair used to?  

He didn't say I looked old or bad or fat. Just....different.

Looking different is just part of the process of.....do I dare say it?....growing older. 

There it is! The reality. I am different. 

I'm not going to complain that there are more lines on my face than there used to be, or that there are more dimples on my thighs, or that where muscles used to be its now soft and squishy. These are signs that yes, I'm aging, and YES, I AM STILL LIVING. Physical signs that I've been in it for the long haul and not only does that mean different, it means present, here, and doing me! 

Embrace different, my friends. Do your tulips look the same every year? Do your spring flowers come up on the same day every year? Do the trees have the same number of buds as they had last year and the years before? 

We are born to live and change and grow and that means things look different, not just from the outside, but from the inside too. 

I like different. Different keeps me on my toes, and keeps me from getting bored. I'm celebrating that. How about you? 

Love you.