Stuck in the middle with you...and okay with that

I had a delightful moment tonight. My friend Shelley has a daughter-Jane-who is in high school. Jane is uber talented and has held the female lead in her high school plays this past year. Whenever Jane performs I go to whatever performance she is in because...well...she is like family to me. Shelley bought me a ticket to see Jane perform as Amneris in Aida, one of the female leads in the play. Jane has a lovely voice and stage presence which makes me think she is a true natural. It is by all accounts a high school play. Lots of high schoolers and parents attended. Which means the crowd was a combination of 15-18 year olds and 40 plusses.

So here is my pleasant moment...during intermission, in the bathroom...I got a glimpse of myself in the mirror. No, silly, that in and of itself did not create a pleasant moment. Here is what did. I saw myself in the mirror, between the 16 year old high school girl who came to see her friends perform and the 60 year old grandma who came to see her granddaughter be an actress in this play. I saw myself in the in between. My well fitted jeans. My coordinated top and jewlery. My round hips and thighs-not in a bad way but...well...in a sensual, good way. My cute hair style and fashionable glasses. A smile that played on the corner of my mouth. I almost didn't recognize myself in that moment. I held a confidence I didn't know I had. I wasn't the 16 year old girl who didn't know who she was; nor was I the 60 year old woman who was already wizened to who she was. I was me. Mid 30's, cute, 'lil ol me. I have spent my life wanting to be physically different than who I really am and yes...one glimpse in the mirror as a 35 year old tells me I am exactly where and who I should be. Wow. What a moment. To smile, at myself, in the mirror. And truly mean it.