No Looking Back

I will never be "back" to where I was physically, but isn't that a normal part of aging? I have come to the semi-professional mental health conclusion that much of life is accepting and learning how to grieve and deal with grief. I say that not in a depressed state of mind, but, rather, a positive one. I think we all need to realize that growing and changing and living life fully comes with unmet expectations, the giving up of dreams, and the acceptance that the next stage in life will never be what the previous one was. Our challenge is to recognize losses, accept them and the change, and move forward. Although I have come to this thought through other life experiences, today, several pairs of pants confirmed it once again. I had a yard sale and pulled out all the "pre-baby" pants. After the yard sale all of them were left and I had to decide if I was going to put them back in my closet. I have pants from many times in my life, and the memories clothes can hold is another entry all together, however, I was hoping to one day "get back into" these pants. Get back to them as though the 8lb. 12oz. baby that I gave birth to was something I would just get over, and everything would be back to normal. Not so! My body has permanently changed. But, guess what? My body will continue to permanently change. Wether I have no more kids or 3 more kids, or work out an hour a day or never again, my body will continue to change. One may take this as a statement of giving up, but I take it as empowerment. I need to do what is healthy for my body and what makes me feel good and vital, no matter the stage of life or size of my pants. I cannot only be happy when I measure up to my 22 year old me. If that is my standard then I will be miserable for the rest of my life. I need to be content with the now me, not looking back, but moving forward. Goodbye old pants. Hello days ahead.