The Woman in the Mirror

/ Jodi

The Woman in the Mirror.

Who is she?

Sometimes she finds it hard to recognize the image
reflecting back at her.

She now has more age spots
than sun-kissed tan.

Her eyelids sag to make her look like she is squinting,
especially when she smiles big and laughs hard.

The “round” face she has always had is even fuller,
because she loves food and wine too much.

The lines around her mouth sag like the heavy parentheses
of a ventriloquist’s doll.

Her legs are truly not meant for public display,
and her boat-sized feet just don’t fit in those cute shoes anymore.

Her post-menopausal midsection
can no longer be “sucked” in.

She still tries though…

She puts on make-up
and dyes her hair.

She tries self-tanning lotions
and moisturizing hair products.

She tries to find clothes that suit her age
and full figure.

But there’s no hiding
behind the signs of 55.

She wishes she was as “fat” and “ugly”
as she thought she was when she was 15…

or 25 or 35
or even 45.

And even though that image in the mirror
is not who she feels like inside…

She actually likes herself more
than when she was 15 or 25 or 35 or 45.

She has stronger opinions,
and she is not ashamed to express her own thoughts.

She takes time for herself
and doesn’t feel bad about it.

She supports things
that are important to her.

She believes women who reveal
they have been assaulted,

because she has been
victim to that herself.

She loves her family with a fervor
she never knew possible.

And she loves herself
(something she has to work at every day).

She is a wife and mother
and grandmother.

She is a business woman
and an artist.

She is a woman living in these times,
and she is glad for that.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

90 thoughts on “The Woman in the Mirror”

  6. Oh, Jodi~ this post really spoke to me as I’m in the exact same place as you are! Same age, same feelings about my appearance, same feelings about my life now and who I am. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and your heart. I so appreciate you!! 🙂 ❤ Sharon

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    • I’m so glad it resonates with beautiful you Sharon! We must keep trying to love ourselves and make a positive impact on the world. Some days are easier than others. Right? I imagine some days are hard for you to get through. I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult it is to lose a child. But you do your daughter proud and carry on and make a positive impact for women in our world. And you create such beauty. Xo

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  16. The age change is something else, Jodi, that leaves us floundering. Just keep on focusing on those things that have not changed in your life. FYI … you are beautiful! Don’t look at the negatives …. look at the positives. This is what I tell myself yet …. yeah yeah. Right. LOL

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  22. Oh Jodi, this is so wonderful, and I can relate to all of it, even if I am still a little younger – but we all walk in at least similar shoes. I´d LOVE to sit at your table and to eat your wonderful dishes and drink a glass of wine with you and laugh about those silly wrinkles and spots. I believe all those women too, because here we probably all walk in the same shoes too. You look absolutely sweet and gorgeous, my friend! ❤️

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  24. Ah yes, a beautiful reflection on the miracle and wonders of life. Experience and knowledge are earned with age……..and we are both fortunate to be able to enjoy the ride! Live Long and Prosper Jodi………….oh yeah…..that is exactly what you are doing!!!

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  25. I think you are so beautiful inside and out, my friend! 💙 I so understand what you are saying about your reflection in the mirror… I am always a little surprised when I see a photo of myself and how much I’ve aged and grown a little bigger around the middle… sigh! ☺️ I too love good food and wine! 🍷 I love seeing YOU because I don’t see the age spots and wrinkles, I see JODI who I think is really SPECTACULAR!! ❤️

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  27. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Ephesians 2:10 – For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.
    That word…workmanship…means masterpiece or poem…isn’t that beautiful?
    And the way God designed you, my friend, and the way you use your gifts, brings encouragement and inspiration to many.

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  30. Well said Jodi! YOU are beautiful both inside and out! The stranger in the mirror oft times does not match what is seen in the mind’s eye. When you have seen another 15 years added to the woman in the mirror, you might also be saying : Her skin is now crepey and her neck is squishy. Her vision is not as sharp and her hearing is fading. Her fingers are arthritic and her knees are worn out. But…She remains loving and loved, by others and herself. “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” – Mark Twain. Thank-you!

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    • Oh Ellen! YES! Thank you for your message and visit! I know you get it. I’m still trying to get it! LOL! I am trying every day to love myself and accept myself. The inside is so much easier than the outside 🙂 ❤

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  32. The best part of aging is learning to accept ourselves, and learning to be brave enough to share our true selves with others. Your photo is beautiful and you are beautiful in every possible way. Sharing this is a gift, because so many of us can relate to it. Thank you!

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    • Oh Ann! I am trying so hard to just say thank you to people who say I am “beautiful”…. I really wasn’t fishing for that, and I really struggle “seeing” the image of myself… YET – I really like the person I am becoming on the inside. And part of that has to be accepting the me I am on the outside. Am I making sense? LOL! I am trying to be brave and dare myself to be me. Thank you for being so kind!

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      • It makes perfect sense! It is so hard for most of us to accept a compliment, especially about our looks. And yet you are beautiful…on the outside and the inside, and people wouldn’t tell you that if they didn’t mean it. It’s obvious that you weren’t fishing for it. You were being brave and vulnerable about how you are feeling now, and that struck a chord with so many of us, and we are grateful. So…just accept the compliments! They are sincere and heartfelt!!

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  34. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. You are loved by strangers, friends & family. You are diciplined & organized & even your chef skills are as beautiful as they are tasty. You invoke all the senses & in everything you say, photograph, or do. You love life, and nature, & rusty old objects, people of all shapes, sizes and sexual persuasions. Going to Greece or Egypt or Scotland maybe on your bucket list, but a day with your grandkids, make all that secondary. You are a rolemodel, faithful friend, and genuine. You are imperfect in the most perfect way! And you’ll look back at the woman in the mirror at 65 or 75 and say wasn’t she beautiful. As we look at you that way. Put on a beautiful colored caftan, & have a glass of wine & snuggle up to that wonderful hubby & let go of all those things that don’t really matter. In the end you will be remembered for that great smile & your laugh, not the wrinkles it created. And no one will say I loved her Marilyn Monroe or Twiggy body, but they will remember the caring feeling of love felt by those cuddling & hugs from those body embraces. Beautiful words in your poem & sentiment truly captures what we all think of ourselves, it nice to have words for them.

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    • Dena… I am beyond words and so full of emotion reading this. I feel so unworthy of your kindness and praise and love. I want to thank you and I want to say no no no you don’t know imperfect me. I don’t deserve your words. Why is it so hard to simply accept beautiful compliments?! I am trying. Really trying. To accept and feel affirmed and loved. I am beyond gratitude for your amazing and beautiful affirmation Dena! What a beautiful woman you are! And I have no idea what you “look” like! So when I think that way – about you -I get it!! Thank you Dena! Hugs and love!!

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  35. Jodi you are beautiful and I’m happy you’re more confident as you age. It’s good to know. Slowly I’m learning that. I had to laugh, because at almost any age we wish we were as fat as we once thought we were. I always think I wish I was as fat as I thought I was in university, or when I was 25 or 26 even. But, as you say there are trade offs & better things ahead, even though we miss the past. You’re gorgeous and you have a very luck pay husband and grandkids with grandma’s genes. Cheers.

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  38. I love this. You are so beautiful. I love that blouse. And thank you for your vulnerability and honesty, too. I often have these same feelings. I see myself in the mirror and look different to myself, but I like myself so much better now at my current age, too. I am so proud of my wisdom and confidence. Awesome job being you.

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