Jeanette - you have a very healthy self image of yourself. I love the description of your black curly hair and green eyes, the heart and soul of a woman!
Rosie - if you were able to walk a mile today, then you accomplished a great deal! Girlfriend, when you are our age with older children, "fat, old and out of shape" should be replaced by "plump, wise, and matronly". It is nice to have the shape, vim and vigor of a 20 or 30 something, but REALLY... we need to concentrate on feeling healthy and happy and not how we look. If you can walk a mile, then CONGRATULATIONS! You have NOTHING to be disappointed in yourself about!
We should be more concerned with how we use words to make us feel important, rather than how we use them as negative descriptions that make us feel bad about ourselves. We are not old; we are wise!
We are not fat; we are plump and juicy!
Men don't complain about that, but we do! Why? We need to work on our OWN self images, that's why.
Lala, I know you are starting a healthier life style with eating, exercising and not smoking and that is GREAT. Liking your body is as wonderful as LOVING yourself!
CDM, I LIKE my body! I LOVE myself and I like my body. When I was younger, I can honestly say that I loved my body, because I thought that it was near perfect for a 20 or 30 something year old woman. I think loving perfect bodies is something that 20 and 30 year olds (and teens) put more emphasis on than older adults do. Having children, along with the aging process, removes some of that perfection of the 30 something body.
I think that if a person remains healthy, active and able to do all the activites that they REALLY want to do, then they should be very happy with their body. I LOVE the fact that I am a grandmother (and I certainly have more of a grandmother's body than a 30 something body). I LOVED my 30 something body (but I like my grandmother's body that can cuddle my grandchildren and still ride bikes, climb hills, walk paths and swim!)
I am VERY HAPPY with who I am, at this point in my life.
Trish