It is that time of year when everyone tells us to make a gratitude list. And normally I would roll my eyes so hard they would get stuck, because it usually feels like forced positivity with a side of scented candle.
But this year, I am doing it differently. I am not writing the Instagram gratitude list. I am writing the real one. The midlife, Gen-X, unhinged-but-honest one.
I am grateful for elastic waistbands that look chic. For the invention of dry shampoo. For reading glasses that are actually cute and don't make me look like my 4th grade librarian, even though I secretly loved her.
I am grateful for friends who text back "same" when I say I walked into a room and forgot why. For the group chat that is 90% memes and 10% "did anyone else wake up sweating at 3 AM?" And yes, we all did.
I am grateful that I no longer have the energy to pretend I like things I don't like. I don't have to go to every event. I don't have to eat the potato salad that I know is going to be bad. I can just say, "No thank you, I'm good," and go home. That is a superpower I did not have at 25.
I am grateful for my heating pad, my good bra, my tweezers that actually grip, and for concealer that covers both a dark spot and a grudge.
I am grateful that I finally stopped waiting to feel 100% confident to live my life. I am doing it tired. I am doing it sweaty. I am doing it with a chin hair. But I am doing it.
And I am grateful for you. For this little corner of the internet where we don't have to pretend to be perky, polished, or "aging gracefully." We can just be real, be a little feral, and be thriving anyway.
If you are making a list this week, make the honest one. The one that makes you laugh. The one that is actually yours.
Keep thriving.
Tracy 💗
💭 Reflection: Forget the perfect, pretty gratitude list. What are 3 deeply honest, funny, a little unhinged things you are actually grateful for this week?