Owning It

The other morning my Mom stopped by to swap cars with me (she needed the "spaceship" aka the minivan to pickup a kayak...but that's another story). When she entered the house she was carrying a shopping bag, and eager to tell me about its contents.

"I was at McCracken's (store's name changed to protect the accused)," she started. Upon seeing the expression on my face she continued: "I know you think of it as an 'old lady' store but you know what? I *am* an old lady!"

Now anyone who knows my Mom knows she is most definitely *not* an old lady, at least not by my definition: staid in their ways, has an affinity for appliqué sweatshirts and "cute" Holiday sweaters, and somewhere along the way forgets that she can be a mature woman without looking like, well, a "mature woman."

By contrast, my Mom takes pride in her appearance and takes good care of herself. She has an adventurous spirit, a dry sense of humor and looks decades younger than her chronological age. But here, in my entryway, she was describing herself, unequivocally, as (gasp!) an old lady.

Which got me to thinking.  When my Mom made that declaration, she wasn't talking about appliqué sweatshirts, she was being be true to herself.  Authentic.  She was owning it.

And I thought, maybe there's a lesson here. Instead of worrying about what other people (or even your own daughter) think of you, perhaps you could just shed all that excess baggage and those expectations and just be your unique and most fabulous, confident self.  

I guess that must come with being a mature woman.  Or, you know, an "old lady."