Every morning I see her, this 40-something woman in the mirror. A silver ribbon weaved within her chestnut hair, as if carefully placed behind every breath of time.
She stares back at me, smiling. Her fingers lace the silver and gently brush its strands away from her skin.
She lets out a sigh of acceptance. The reality of it all wraps her in comfort. She is blessed with the opportunity of aging.
The fact I am living long enough to witness such a natural phenomenon as my hair turning gray is what pulls me closer to the mirror each day. Fascination trumps vanity as another day closes and the box of hair color in my bathroom drawer remains untouched.
I think about letting nature take the wheel sometimes and just letting my natural color seep through but at 41, the aging invasion is still only arriving in patches. Never one to pull off leopard print, I opt for full coverage color. Eventually.
Today, I celebrate the gray. I’ve earned every strand.
* * *
So tell me, what aging phenomenon fascinates you? Are you embracing your aging?
Christine Macdonald 
Aging phenomenon? Isn't it funny how when we were young we never thought it would happen to us?! Well, it has. And all those comments my mom used to make about aging are suddenly part of my vocabulary. "Every morning there is a new wrinkle". Or, "I just don't loose weight like I used to". I hate it when mom is right.
LikeLike
I embraced the again process several times over the years. I started gaining weight for no reason when I hit my 30's. I started getting gray hair not long after that. Eventually, mother nature said that gray hair wasn't enough, and began taking my hair altogether. Now the only gray hair I get is on my face if I don't shave often enough. Otherwise, my head is as shiny as a billiard ball.
LikeLike
Nicely written post, I like it! Unfortunately I have already have grey hair when i was in my late 20s. Whenever i see one, if they appear on top of my head shining among the black hair..i will pull the silver strand off.
LikeLike
I haven't accepted my grey hair as I'm not there…..yet. I still colour and foil and I am holding on to ths for as long as I can.I can see my face aging and I am accepting this. I am not one for cosmetic procedures to remove lines or smooth them…..my lines reflect my life, the birthing of my 3 healthy children and the heartbreak, tears and wonderful memories my life gives me.
LikeLike
This is beautifully written. I loved "fascination trumps vanity." I'm just starting to accept my own signs of aging. I like your attitude.Thanks for linking up, but since this isn't a Friday Fragments post, I'm moving it to Saturday Sampling 🙂 Hope you don't mind.
LikeLike
I'm a little disconcerted with how frowny my "neutral" face has become! Am I really that grumpy? Is this the reward for raising four teenagers? I don't really mind the laugh lines, and I still keep the gray at bay, but this frowny face is an aging surprise I never anticipated!
LikeLike
I love aging. I love my gray hair and the wrinkles around my eyes. I guess guys are more accepting. It's not so much the physical aging I hate as the fact that my remaining years are dwindling. Make sense? Middle-aged is more horrific sounding than "I'm 42." It means I've reached half of my life expenctancy. It's half over. Yikes!For what it's worth, I love you with or without your Bonnie Raitt highlights.
LikeLike
I'm 32 in a few weeks. I don't like it. In my head I am still a 21 year old idiot. In real life I am a 31 year old idiot.Basically I am just an idiot.I haven't been here for awhile. I am now going to trawl through your posts to see what has been happening.
LikeLike
Ageing gracefully…. has become a favorite topic for semianars and talks..Letting the nature take it's course proves that u r at peace with urself
LikeLike
I'm plump enough that I have very few wrinkles – one advantage to having a nice round face LOL and I have been fortunate enough to not have too many gray hairs on my 43 year old head. I do however have hairs sprouting from my chin, neck and *shudders* my cheeks! Not happy with that and I'm fighting that battle. Your post was so well written. I can see your point 🙂 Thanks!Kristin – The Goatvia Saturday Sampling
LikeLike
I started graying at 25. I think my first miscarriage is what made that happen. I colored my hair for years. Then 3 years ago I decided to stop covering myself up. I have a patch of gray right in the front. In a ponytail I look like a skunk with a white line! And it's cool (for me at least). My only aging struggle is with my droopy cheeks (like the elevator dog in Bugs Bunny). Considering I'm 44 and still get asked for my ID I'm willing to embrace the aging…
LikeLike
I've had one woman tell me that she loves how I 'frost my hair'… WTF?!?!?!Me? Frost my hair?!?!?! I don't think so!!!!!Another has told me that if she could bottle the hair color I have that she would be rich… I used to have blonde hair… that eventually became striped with gray…. now it seems to be more gray that is striped with blonde… either way, it gets me compliments.And my hands… they have become my Father's hands…~shoes~
LikeLike
The girls are getting a bit droopy. There was a time I could wear a T-shirt sans bra and stop traffic. Nowadays, I squeeze my upper arms to my torso to keep them pert when I'm on my back. Still love 'em though. We've been through a lot together and there's only more to come…
LikeLike
My aging phenomenon is of a very positive nature. I'm finding my 40s much more fulfilling than my 30s and 20s. And I'm having just as much fun.
LikeLike
Good for you! I passed 40 not long ago and remember thinking that was anciet. Remeber Logan's Run? That ended at 30. yikes.I have accepted am not as thin as once was, have more wrinkles, and have a better smile and better self than had at 25.Is all good…Except maybe the random hairs on my ears. What is up with that?
LikeLike
I'm 54 years young and I'm fighting the gray factor tooth and nail. I do hide it because when I do I look younger in the mirror and it does so much for my ego right now. I don't feel my age and don't want to look it either. I really notice on my hands right now with the age spots. Ewwww.
LikeLike
My hair was nearly white when I was little, slowly darkened til I was 24, then started turning silver two weeks after I married (It's all his fault!) I don't color it. It's pretty in the sun. And that streak from my left temple going back looks just like my mom's and my grandma's. I'm a few weeks from 42, and I expect I have til I'm 50 before all the color is gone. I know it's not the "in" thing, but I like my hair the way it is. I could do without the crow's feet, tho'.
LikeLike
This comment has been removed by the author.
LikeLike
Ironically I found you through Laundry Hurts My Feelings and not through BON. Congrats on that – it was (obviously) one of my dreams until I moved over to WP, where I assume it's no longer an option.I'm 41 too and my hardest point has been my weight. I'm working on that now. But my face and personality is still quite youthful, some grey around the temples and on the part that I dye. I mean to say I have grey up top on the part, and that I dye it. ;-)All in all, I'm grateful, because the weight I can do something about and the rest I think will grow old gracefully.And I'm loved. 🙂
LikeLike
Gravity amazes me.
When I was younger, it wasnt nearly as obvious.
LikeLike