Sepia Prime Woman Digital Magazine December 2013 | Page 16

Frankly Speaking
-Stephanie Franklin
HELP!! I’M 25 BUT MY BODY KEEPS LYING ON ME!
I can’t tell you exactly when it happened, but I woke up
locked in a space I didn’t recognize!
One minute I was looking in the mirror at what I thought
was absolute perfection! A toned and tightened muscular
body that looked great in anything. I could eat whatever
I wanted and within a few days of a mild workout, BAM!
Snapped right back into place. Well now, that elastic
seems to have worn thin. Within weeks of me even
thinking about eating bread or sweets (yep those are my
vices), they seem to have Superglue and stick no matter
how hard I’m working out!
This body makes sounds that I’ve only heard on “old
people.” You know the ones that go snap, crackle and pop
every time you move, but ESPECIALLY when bending.
And I don’t exactly remember pain being involved before,
forcing me to make those “oohh” and “umph” sounds I
only heard from “old people.” What is that saying about
me? Hmmm... The involuntary “whales calling to each
other” sounds are the worst because it only seems to
come at times when it’s eerily quiet such as church or
business meetings, and it doesn’t matter whether I’ve eaten
anything or not. Oh and milk has ceased to be a friend and
has become a mild acquaintance.

I believe it was only yesterday that my girlfriends and I
would leave out of the house at about 10:20 p.m. on our
way to a club to dance the night away and shut the place
down somewhere near 5:00 a.m. Although I can’t put
my finger on who’s doing it, I am being drugged nightly
and get sleepy around the same time I used to go out, so
going anywhere at that time is out of the question. I also
find myself needing a nap at some point during the day,
I assume to sleep off the after effects of the drugs I get at
night.
And someone keeps playing with this darn thermostat!
One minute it’s up at 90 degrees and the next minute I
need a blanket. I never know if I need a bathing suit or a
fur jacket! When I catch them...
In all seriousness, while getting older may not seem
like fun for some women, it will be what you make it.
Change is different and can be a completely scary place,
but embrace it as a new season. It’s alright to stand in
the mirror and prophesy to that beauty looking back at
you, even if it takes some time to get to know her. It is
inevitable that our bodies go through a change that only
women who have gone through can appreciate, but your
attitude toward it is what will make the journey either
unbearable or interesting and adventurous.

Apparently I am privileged to have little tailors that live
in my closet and in my dresser drawers who like to play
practical jokes and it isn’t even April Fool’s Day. They have
systematically taken in all of my favorite clothes 2 inches
so that some have become unwearable! Somebody please
tell me what’s going on!

As for me, it doesn’t look like I’ll be getting out any time
soon -- when you move into a new house, it takes time to
adjust, and I am still getting used to this one even pushing
age 47. I just wished somebody had told me I was moving
into this new place so quickly!

Body parts that used to be perky and stay up all by
themselves are now losing a battle to this thing called
gravity and need super slings which include words like
“extra support” in their description. Fat cells have ceased
to be gypsies and decided to make settlements in places
that make no sense!

Stephanie Franklin
is a dancer, encourager
and writer who helps
others cope through humor.

www.sepiaprimewoman.com