Wednesday, September 11, 2013

True Beauty...Face 11 of 29


29 faces


Face 11 of 29...Hooray!!!  Here she is:

"So much has been said and sung of beautiful young girls.
Why doesn't somebody wake up to the beauty of old women?"
 -Harriet Beecher Stowe

I love this quote so much.  It is so wonderful in it's truth.  

I've been thinking about how very lucky I am to be friends with many lovely ladies who are not close to me chronologically, whether by a few years or by quite a few... and take note, I am not calling them 'old women'...because in my eyes, they are my peers. Additionally, if I did, they would probably get together and beat me up!  

Seriously though, I think my sweet friends, the ones who happen to have lived a few years longer than I have, are the most vibrant, vivacious women I know.  They're funny, kind, encouraging and caring.  They know who they are and they are comfortable in their own skin.  I am grateful every day to get to be a part of their lives.  

I feel so bad for women my age and younger who overlook the value of our matriarchs.  They only have friends in their own age range, friends who are jealous, catty, drama queens...they are missing out on so much!  I'm not saying that's the case of all younger women, but I do see it a lot.  And I do know that just because a person is older it's no guarantee that they won't have those same bad traits...trust me, I work with one of them...I know they're out there!  

Maybe I've just been lucky that most of the women I'm surrounded by are full of good traits.  I learn from them...I absorb the wisdom they share with me...I truly appreciate each of them.  I can not imagine my life being good without these women in it.  

I think it's an odd thing that our culture often looks at older women as though they are obsolete, as though aging is a thing to be ashamed of.  Older women are often so undervalued, when really they are the most valuable people I know.  I will never understand why older women are looked at with anything other than reverence. 

Ok, ok, I step down off my soap box now.  I just want to say to my dear friends, who are slightly older...but infinitely more wise...than I am, I love you all very much.  I hope that, one day in the not-so-distant future, I can be to someone what you ladies are to me.   Big squishes for you all, my darlings.

14 comments:

  1. Hehe, there is nothing wrong about what you say, my darling young friend :-) :-)

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  2. Sweet, I love this blog post. Your face is great and your words are even better. I too have had several good friends who are at least 10 years old than I am. You are right... many of us become less catty as we age. We learn what is important. Most of my life I have had friends who are several years older or younger than I am. I hope my younger friends think as kindly of me as you do of your older friends.

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    1. Thanks Boo! You are definitely one of my SLIGHTLY older than me chronologically friends that I am SO lucky to have in my life!!! I like what you said: "We learn what is important." That's very true...that's a big part of the wisdom you all are sharing with me. I feel like I get the experience of a lifetime with out having to suffer through the learning experience part of it as much as I would have to otherwise...you all are saving me from a lot of growing pains! <3 <3 <3

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  3. Thank you so much for being so kind and flattering to us who have spent a few more years on this good earth trying to learn what we came here for. I consider you one of my younger friends, so hope you consider me your older friend. I feel that I am very lucky to have met a group of the most interesting, caring and supportive women both young and old. So thank you.

    And your face is fantastic! Maybe I should try a self portrait. Or maybe not. But I love what you did.

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    1. I definitely consider you as one of my just-a-little-bit-older-than-me friends, Shirley!!! I so understand how you feel about the group of lovely gals we're lucky enough to have in our lives! I've never felt so completely at home with a group of people as I do with all my dear friends I've met because of doing art and art journaling. I'm so grateful for each and every one of you! <3 <3 <3

      I think you should do a self portrait! You have one of my favorite faces in the whole wide world, so I would love to see how you put yourself on a page! I've done one or two self portraits in the past, but I think it's time for another one...I've learned a lot since my last attempt! I hope you will do one!!! <3<3<3

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  4. Great post, my precious Sweets!

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    1. Thanks my fantastically wonderful Raine! SMOOCHES!!! <3 <3 <3

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  5. Hear Hear! Well said. I have so many wonderful young and old women friends who are so good to be around. They are truly beautiful people. Age shouldn't even be a factor but, sadly it is in this era of youth and beauty.

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    1. Thanks Clare! I agree, age shouldn't be a factor (she says after writing a whole post about it...haha). I wish that everybody could see that...there's so much that people miss out on by overlooking ones who are not in their age range.

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  6. Great post, sweet tea! That's the fun part of growing up, we don't count how many fingers old we are anymore, and everyone seems to equalize, to I like you, or I'm not into that. We can accept differences and appreciate that variety is the spice of like!

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    1. Thanks Jackie my honey! I like what you said: "everyone seems to equalize"...that's such a good way to say it! If youth is the gift wasted on the young, learning to appreciate differences and variety must be the consolation we get for realizing we've wasted our youth! :D

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  7. sweets, Lovely face and precious words. Love you bunches, my "just a tad younger than me" friend. LOL, did you see what I did there? Hugs, Pamikins

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    1. Thanks my Pamikins! I see what you did there! :D Don't worry, everyday I get a little older, so eventually we'll both meet up at 31 years old, right? Haha! Big smooches!!! <3 <3 <3

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