I recently struck up an extended conversation with a man I barely knew.  He was eager to talk and almost seemed as if no one had asked him how he was doing in years.  The conversation actually broke my heart.  At the beginning of the chat, the man was jovial and energetic—he was really putting on his best face for me (a stranger).  Then, as I continued to ask questions about his life and respond to his tales, he became increasingly melancholy.  I soon realized that this man was completely weighed down by regret.  He spent his days looking back at the past instead of looking forward.  I hoped that our conversation would help relieve his burden and put some of his pain behind him, but as it came to a close he began to apologize for having had it at all.  Sadly, our conversation had just become one more thing that he regretted.   I reached out and touched his hand and told him that I didn’t regret our chat at all.  He smiled at me, but I could still see worry in his creased, aging eyes.  I would have loved to have lightened his load, but I realized that life is about our own personal journeys and only we can decide if we want to look forward or look backward.  We are all human, and we will inevitably make mistakes.  I guess the key to happiness is whether we choose to learn from our mistakes and move on or let our mistakes dictate how we live our lives and think about ourselves. 

Beth

I laughed out loud when I read Kristy’s last blog entry. She is a funny lady and I adore her, but Kristy and I view wrinkles a little differently. I am sure she would say that our views differ because I am 32, and maybe she’s right (I hope she’s not!). I am definitely showing signs of aging, but I am growing fond of these “expression” lines! I consider them to be the road map—if you will—of the life that I have lived! The parentheses around my mouth, the lines at the corners of my eyes, and the deep lines in my forehead clearly show that I have expressed every emotion inside of me often and with gusto! I am a firm believer that the life you live on the inside shows on the outside. We will all age and I think it’s important for us to accept and embrace that as a wonderful gift that comes with wisdom, clarity, and calm (and a few wrinkles). Plus, trying to fight wrinkles with procedures like face lifts and botox doesn’t seem to be working on anyone–just take a look at some of the faces in Hollywood! The thing that we should do as a society is promote aging (especially in women) as a beautiful thing! Have you ever noticed that leading men in Hollywood are still playing sex symbol roles well into their sixties—and even into their seventies (just look at Sean Connery)? But, how many older women do you see on the big (or small) screen who are still being portrayed as sexy and beautiful? And you can’t answer that question with someone like Demi Moore, in my opinion, because she spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on plastic surgery trying to make herself look 25. There aren’t many on your list, are there? We can change that! Let’s all start valuing aging in our society as a beautiful, natural thing! To me, passion is what makes someone beautiful! Here’s to being passionate about a life well lived! And, Kristy, I think you’re gorgeous…inside and out!

Much Love,

Beth

It’s time for the holiday season once again! This is the time of year when families come together to celebrate. I am very blessed; the members of my family love to spend time together year round! I really think that my family is truly remarkable and I love them dearly. We do things together that most people don’t have the opportunity to do. My grandmother has done an incredible job of keeping this family very close and making sure that we spend fun, creative time together. Every Easter, Grandmother dresses up like the Easter Bunny and hides eggs for our family. And it isn’t just an ordinary Easter egg hunt! No, she plans several different themed hunts that involve money, bible stories and prizes! A few days before Christmas, we all dress up in matching sweatshirts, ride around town in a trolley, and take gifts to different families while singing Christmas carols (in four part harmony, no less). On Christmas Eve, we all come together for dinner and Santa even comes for a visit! We always celebrate birthdays, special events, and even not-so-major holidays together. This past year, we all came together for lunch on Father’s Day. We then formed two teams and played an awesome game of softball in my grandparents’ yard (yes, my family is big enough to form two teams). We had such a blast and played until we were all dripping in sweat!  It is a memory I will always cherish. Anyway, here is a picture of the entire Troutman family! It was taken on Easter Sunday of this year. I am crazy about my family and consider myself very lucky. I’d love to see your family photos and hear about your family traditions!
Beth