#WQWWC.....May 12 Theme...Beauty

I decided to join in with Writer's Quotes Wednesday, hosted by Marsha from Always Write. If you're interested in joining, you can find more about #WQWWC here. 

This weeks theme is beauty. We are always our own worst critic aren't we? Yet, we scold others for thinking of themselves as less than beautiful. We can always think of those things about our physical makeup that we would change if we could. I have a few stories to share, but first a few quotes I found.

"A beautiful face will age and a perfect body will change, but a beautiful soul will always be a beautiful soul".

"Everything (everyone) has beauty, but not everyone sees it". Confucius

"There is no definition of beauty, but when you can see someone's spirit coming through, something unexplainable, that's beautiful to me." Liv Tyler

So many quotes on beauty....there was another one that I was trying to find but it's eluding me. 

My mother's family is Italian (that's some strong genes), my dad's family is Slavik. I haven't always been confident in my looks. I was teased about my long nose, my bubble butt, and always thought I had thunder thighs. So I've always been critical mostly of my nose and thighs. I seemed to keep finding things not to like so much, but of course would never let my daughters hear my complaints because I wanted them to be confident in their bodies. It's taken years for me to embrace my physical traits that were my struggle. I've always known and believed that beauty is so much deeper than our outward appearance, BUT those few things kept snagging me. One day I saw a photo of my grandma (side profile...I've never liked my side profile), and was stopped in my tracks because there was "my" side profile, and if I was unhappy with mine, then did that mean I was unhappy with hers because we look similar because my mom resembled her so much. WOW. 

Then, when I started working at my current job, one of ladies exclaimed one day, "oh, my, so that's what she would look like", confused I laughed and asked her what she was talking about. Apparently she had seen an old european coin with a woman on it (side profile), and she always wondered what the woman would look like in the flesh....well, she saw my side profile and decided I fit the bill. It was a compliment, but it really made me stop to think that the flaws we see in ourselves, others see as beauty. 

It is also true that someone can be physically stunning, but who they are inside takes away from that, and on the other hand, someone who many might not think of as physically attractive, has such a beauty inside, that they just glow. We just have to be willing to look deeper. Are we going to be physically attracted to everyone (maybe think everyone is beautiful, handsome, etc, in a physical sense)? Probably not, but someone probably does, and yet we can more than the physical beauty of someone that makes them entirely attractive to be around. I meet people daily at my job and they are some of the most amazing people, and there are others that I want to say "stop trying so hard, just be yourself". 

Let's be on the lookout for the beauty all around us, in the people all around us, in nature all around us. Let's nurture it. 

I am thankful for the legacy that my mom and Grandma left to us. I'm thankful for their beauty and how they lived their lives, even in the toughest times. They both lived with husbands who drank, my mom battled cancer for 5 years before leaving us way too young at the age of 54. My grandma passed away last year at 91. They made the most of their lives and always made sure those around them knew how much they were loved, no matter what. 

I went and visited my grandma and aunts again in 2019, it was the last time I got to see her and I'm so glad I went. 

My Bapa's (moms dad), mom and someone else. 

My grandma, two of my three aunts and my uncle.

My grandma (Ma) and Grandpa (Bapa)

My own two amazing, and beautiful daughters.

My aunt Jan (one missing in the above photo), she and I are only 7 years apart. 

My mom and my oldest daughter. 

I decided to embrace my silver hair. It was a struggle at times, and still is when I see women my age (52) still coloring and I'm thinking "man do I look old?" But I see more and more women embracing the inevitable at younger years and have even had a few who come into work and have followed my journey say I inspired them to do the same. 

One of the last photos of my mom with my girls. She fought a tough fight. 

My mom and now all my grandmas and great grandmas have passed away and I desire to pass on the legacy they left me and my family. They were beautiful women. One of my favorite songs is called The Women I come From. 

 

With Joy Unquenchable,