By Angela Verges
In a box of Crayola crayons there is only one shade of grey. As for my aging body, there may be fifty shades of grey. As I’ve aged, I’ve learned that there is a skill set needed to age gracefully. If I were to place an ad seeking a person interested in aging gracefully, it would read:
Must have a sense of humor.
Be willing to laugh at yourself.
Cannot be terrified at the first sighting of grey hair.
Art skills are a plus (for drawing and shaping grey eyebrows).
Preference given to those willing to share their experiences.
Recently, wild grey hairs have sprouted up around my body like flowers in bloom, but not as lovely. Is this considered the onset of aging? Maybe. If you’re feeling frustrated about the aging process, you may need a change in perspective.
Have you ever heard the saying, “life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it?” Well, there are things worse than aging with a few grey hairs. As I attempt to age gracefully, I know I have options. I can poke fun at having to pull my wild chin hairs, the cost of dyeing my grey roots, (or not), or debate with my hair stylist about eliminating the grey in my eyebrows.
Ask yourself, what makes you feel fabulous? Maybe do something with your hair that you wouldn’t normally do or take a leap of faith into the fashion world. The day I decided to purchase red eyeglasses was a day I decided to make a bold statement. I tried on frames that were octagon shaped, oval, and oversized. Nothing tickled my fancy, or looked good with my hair, until the red frames landed on my face. The red and grey seem to work together!
Aging can be a horror movie, an action film, or a situational comedy. You decide! My life has fifty shades of grey that crosses all genres. For example, there is suspense every day as I wonder where I will discover the next grey hair.
During my college years, I worked as a day care assistant. One of the songs we sang with the kids was, "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes." We would tap each body part as we sang the words. Well, today I sing that song as I wonder where the next grey hair will sprout…eyes and ears and mouth and nose?
That’s when the suspense story can become a horror scene. However, the drama can be scaled back into a situational comedy with a change in perspective. We can change your fifty shades of grey (hair), into fifty shades of gratitude.
I read a quote that said, “Shades of gratitude isn’t just one color—it’s a whole spectrum of joy. From small daily blessings to life-changing moments, gratitude comes in all shades.”
Did you know that practicing gratitude has benefits? Some of the benefits are:
Boosts Happiness
Reduces Stress
Sparks Creativity
Encourages Kindness
Fuels Motivation
You can put the gratitude concept to the test. Generate a list of 50 things you are grateful for. There is no need to do this all at once. Create a gratitude journal, and each day for three weeks, write three things that you are grateful for. Keep your entries simple if you’d like; don’t make this a challenging task.
Note how you feel at the end of your time practicing gratitude. Earlier I mentioned the process of aging and greying can be viewed as a situational comedy. This comes across in my journaling. One of my entries says, “I’m grateful for my son and his sense of humor.”
My son and I were having a conversation one day. He stopped talking mid-sentence and rubbed his hand across my chin and said, “You have a little peach fuzz.”
Clearly, he was jealous that my beard was thicker than his.
As you age gracefully, tame your wild hairs if you must, but move forward with humor, grace, and joy. Be bold. Be beautiful. Be you.
Even if you have fifty shades of grey, you can still be fabulous. Gratitude turns every moment into a masterpiece of color.
Angela Verges is a native Detroiter who blogs about her wacky kids, weight gain, and wild chin hair, among other things. She views life’s situations uniquely through steamed eyeglasses due to hot flashes. You can find her on stage bringing laughter to others. Follow Angela on Instagram at writermama223, on Facebook @angela.verges or visit her website angelaverges.net.
