SPT Aug 21: this is what ..

SPT Aug 21: this is what .., originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

This, my dear friends, is what 48 looks like. It's not superwoman; it's not hot sexy milf; it's not dumpy and frumpy - this is 48, or at least my version of it.

It's me. 0 to 2013 - this is where I am now. The sum total of all my experiences, for better and worse. This is the me that I have become, not the me that the media tells me I should be as a 48y old woman, and not the me my family tells me I should be, though their genetic input does have some influence.

It's not the me that society says should be invisible in the face of the relentless obsession with youth. It's not a me that has been altered, enhanced, nipped, tucked or vaginaplastied into a barbie of my former self, the sanitised and androgynous version of womanhood demanded by culture today. It's a me replete with lumps, bumps, nipples and all other gender-specific protuberances society would rather not observe.

It's a me that laughs and cries, that blushes and giggles, that is loud and vocal, that voices her opinion. It's a me that shows confidence and pride, and confusion and is unsure.

I'm not the me that people have tried to scare into becoming, with tales of counting my blessings and comparison with other members of my gender.

It's simply me. Me at 48.
48 and counting!