Deciding what to focus on is half the battle. Social events Stretch-Armstrong me. I should be at the dining table with everyone. I should be in the playroom with Evelyn. I should be halfway across the country with my parents.
Yet settling into myself—deeply, unapologetically, kindly—feels like falling in love with myself.
So did taking a soapy, wet washcloth to my face this morning. The cleanse came after a long look in the mirror when I had liquid foundation and powder on. I couldn’t see—couldn’t feel—myself underneath it. And the moment I said, No, we are not doing this, and reconvened with my forehead and cheeks, my brown spots, the tone of my skin, and the brightness in my eyes, I saw myself as beautiful.
Absolutely beautiful.
And that gesture—from stripping away what wasn’t working to embracing what is—felt like the best I could give myself.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Love, Jaclynn
Going On 40 