After a long morning at the doctor, my dad and I decided to have lunch at his place. He lives in an independent retirement community that can only be described as Valhalla for the 65 and older crowd.

The food is fabulous and I rarely turn down the opportunity to eat there with him. A quick walk past the koi pond and I can get lunch for two. I walked into the main dining room to pick up two plates to-go, when a sweet lady stopped me on my way out.

“You have such a lovely figure!”

Now look, I have very mixed feelings about making comments about a person’s body. Is it ever appropriate? Sometimes it might be? Usually it’s not? Who knows.

First, this lady is probably 80 and I feel like anyone who lives to that milestone should be able to say *whatever* is on their mind. I want to live that long simply so I can start saying what’s actually on mine.

As you probably know, menopause has not been my friend. The reality is, when a woman goes into menopause she has a choice to make. It’s a simple, yet also terribly difficult and complicated choice to make:

You’re either crazy or fat.

Crazy has taken its toll on me so I’m currently opting for fat. That’s a total over exaggeration, of course. I guess the best way to describe how I feel currently is — puffy. My clothes still fit, but I don’t feel like I did six months ago. Things have changed and there are days when I feel less than confident. It’s complicated.

So to hear such a compliment when I’m feeling rather insecure about my body was a welcomed statement. I flashed her a big smile and graciously thanked her.

“Oh! You are so pretty!”

Let me just tell you, this lady is my new best friend. She’s 80, she could tell me whatever she wants and she complimented my physical appearance! She pumped me up and totally fed my currently fragile ego.

I never want to leave this place! Life is good! I feel a spring back in my step! I —

“Are you a resident here, darling?”

Do you think it would be a bad idea if I threw myself out of the fire exit?

Hang in there, ya’ll. xo

Originally published here: https://www.facebook.com/100063488255363/posts/pfbid0ixyR6TjzRK1RAHj5x3Nt4iWc72LjAjz8rMFKs34Xws9MLe97oVCVVYNX5Vi8ZULwl/?mibextid=I6gGtw