My favorite quote throughout my life has been: “You live life forward, understanding it backwards.” I’ve heard the term “aging gracefully” my entire life, and now that 65 years of it is in the rearview mirror, I’ve begun to reflect upon what that really means. For most of what I’d read in the past, that phrase / term was always used in context for someone who didn’t appear to fit the physical image of what the societal norm was for that age; used a lot for celebrities back in the day like Diahann Carroll and Tina Turner. But after doing my own little deep dive into it, I realized, that is not at all what it means. I simply disected the two words… Aging means “the continuous, natural process of growing older and experiencing time-dependent physical, biological, and psychological changes.” And gracefully means… “doing something in a smooth, attractive, and elegant way, or behaving with politeness and kindness during a difficult situation.” To me, this means that while aging will inevitably alter our ‘once upon a time’ physicalities, including beauty, we’re approaching it and embracing it in a way that is accepting and welcoming even. We are giving ourselves “grace” in the adjustment to the new alterations and limitations we didn’t have a choice in. And that’s what this phase of my life feels like. With the challenges of retirement (that no one ever talks about by the way), all the hormonal changes and ups and downs, (I’ve shared about this before HERE), watching loveds ones, friends and family transition from this life, comes the acceptance of losing people in my life more often than I’d care to stomach; that I can no longer do, be, and look the way I did in my fabulous 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and 50’s; that I may have to completely alter my way of life in terms of housing in the not too distant future. All this, without complaint, choosing to keep a positive mindset that truly good days are still ahead of me, and I can choose to make the appropriate changes to still feel pretty and fabulous as I move into my latter 60’s and then 70’s. It’s a major pivot to go through this phase of  life with acceptance and joy. And it is most definitely a choice, welcoming the inevitable circle of life.