Stolen From Anna....Cause I needed to hear it!

Just last week Oprah had a whole show on how great menopause will be... Puhleeeeeeeze! I've had a few thoughts of my own and would like to share them with you.

Whether you are pushing 40, 50, 60 (or maybe even just pushing your luck) you'll probably relate. Mid-life is when the growth of hair on our legs slows down. This gives us plenty of time to care for our newly acquired moustache.

In mid-life women no longer have upper arms, we have wing spans. We are no longer women in sleeveless shirts, we are flying squirrels in drag.

Mid-life is when you can stand naked in front of a mirror and you can see your rear without turning around.

Mid-life is when you go for a mammogram and you realize that this is the only time someone will ask you to appear topless.

Mid-life is when you want to grab every firm young lovely in a tube top and scream, "Listen honey, even the Roman empire fell and those will too."

Mid-life brings wisdom to know that life throws us curves and we're sitting on our biggest ones.

Mid-life is when you look at your-know-it-all, beeper-wearing teenager and think: "For this I have stretch marks?"

In mid-life your memory starts to go. In fact the only thing we can retain is water.

Mid-life means that your Body By Jake now includes Legs By Rand McNally -- more red and blue lines than an accurately scaled map of Wisconsin .

Mid-life means that you become more reflective...You start pondering the "big" questions. What is life? Why am I here? How much Healthy choice ice cream can I eat before it's no longer a healthy choice?

But mid-life also brings with it an appreciation for what is important.We realize that breasts sag, hips expand and chins double, but our loved ones make the journey worthwhile. Would any of you trade the knowledge that you have now, for the body you had way back when? Maybe our bodies simply have to expand to hold all the wisdom and love we've acquired. That's my philosophy and I'm sticking to it!

Thanks for sharing this today Anna Poo! I started my day stuck in self pity today. I was up a good chunck of last night reflecting on 40 years and all the things I had failed to accomplish and all the things that I fucked up. I went to one of my favorite spots on the river to take care of an amends I owed to my name sake my Grandfather Rex, whom I have always shared every birthday with until he passed away about 6 months before I got sober. While sitting there enjoying the calm and feeling close to my Higher Power, it hit me that I was going about my day all wrong. In forty years I have gained so much:

• Sobriety
• A wonderful marriage going on 21 years
• Two kids who are the best
• A career that helps me give back all that I've been given
• Friends who would go to any length for me, as I would for them
• A fellowship, a family really that continues to grow every day
• health, happiness, peace and serenity

Those things are far better than I ever could have wished for and I would not trade them if I could. Thanks to all of you in my "family" who continue to support me as I trudge on my journey.