This was a newborn Me...still in the hospital. Still fresh. New. A blank page. True.
Here's a toddler Me. No preconceived notions. Unselfconscious. Danced without caring who saw. Sang anywhere and everywhere at the top of my lungs. Cried when I wanted, laughed when I wanted, ATE what I wanted. Napped without guilt. Loved Me.
Something happens between toddler-hood and adulthood. People say things to you, give you strange looks. You become aware of what others think and you start to care about their opinions. You start to cover up these parts of you that make you YOU. Slowly, the you that used to exist starts to disappear and you look, think, act like everyone else. Then one day you start to wonder why you care about everyone else's opinion. This is where my 30's have brought me on my journey.
At 36, I am happy to be another year older...and if I'm lucky, I will have many more chances to be another year older. I am learning to peel away the layers that cover up the ME inside of this body. I eat what I want to eat, I am learning to nap without guilt, I LOVE Me, I am working up the courage to dance and sing without caring who is watching or listening. I am learning to embrace what makes me different and show my differences loud and proud. I am a running, singing, dancing, gardening, hula-hooping, guitar playing, photograph taking, dark beer drinking, tattoo having, picture painting, God loving, nap taking, popcorn and buffalo wing eating, loving to serve and care for my family and friends kind of woman. I am 36 and almost back to the real me. There is still tons of Me that I hide. If I am lucky, I will have many more years to reveal the person who is really in there without caring what anyone else thinks.
Such a cute idea! I see Jackson in these photos, too.
Posted by: Kim | October 19, 2009 at 12:14 PM