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 Maria DiGiorgio is a lifelong New Yorker, who currently resides in Commack, with her family. She is a devoted wife and mother, an educator and designer. Maria is active in her community, as a PTA mom and Girl Scout leader. She has a passion for interior decorating and loves to garden. She is an avid reader, and enjoys writing about life experiences and parenthood, as well as her personal observations about the world around us. |
| I recently made a trip to my dermatologist, to discuss some of my skincare concerns. She explained that things shift and become somewhat altered on our bodies, over time. Thankfully, all is well – just the “natural progression of aging”. I showed her a small mark, on what used to be my hip. She called it a “mark of wisdom”, a “barnacle of life”, as it were. She said there was even a brochure about it. I asked if they offered something stiff to drink, while reading it. Whatever happened to “ignorance is bliss”? We laughed, but we agreed, the alternative was worse, undoubtedly. It feels like after the age of twenty-one, things start declining at rapid speed. All of a sudden, it would seem, we begin to notice little changes in our bodies, from appearance to performance. We tend to brush it off, thinking: “How can this be? After all, I’m still so young!” Then, one morning, we wake to find we’re feeling just a little stiff. When we arrive at the bathroom mirror, we see someone who looks likes us, but bears a striking resemblance to an older relation (insert whomever we tend to favor, physically). Twenty to thirty years, hence, we just may be viewing their reflection in our mirror! Not long ago, I remember marveling at the contortionists we saw at the circus. I kept thinking: “How can they do that? They are so nimble and flexible!” I can barely sit “Indian Style” on the carpet, for a board game with my daughter. Something is definitely wrong with this picture! All things considered, aging is a fact of life. You need to be living long enough to start to experience it. One can either embrace it and “age gracefully”, or go “kicking and screaming” (as best you can), but make no mistake, you’re going! I vacillate, depending on the day, the circumstance and the lighting in the room. Vanity is a fragile thing. All the logic in the world can’t explain away our feelings of dismay, disbelief and genuine sorrow over losing (even just a little) of what we always felt, believed or imagined to be true for ourselves. The cruel irony, is that just when we get to an age whereupon we begin to appreciate the unique qualities we (physically) posses, they begin to diminish, ever so subtly, but noticeably, still. The lesson to be learned is to celebrate oneself, at all ages. The essence of who we are will always remain. We need to be wise enough to know that. While youth may indeed, be wasted on the young, the wisdom we obtain as we age, must be cherished. The people we become through our life experiences, can pave the way for a healthier, happier and more fulfilling future, for ourselves and for generations, to come. |
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20 lucky winners will win $500 each in prizes totaling $10,000. 