The Inconstant Moon
Or a good time to revisit why getting old does not suck
I wrote this post three years ago, as the soft side of my right forearm healed from a new tattoo. We were still in the worst part of the pandemic, and I remember sitting in the chair while Maggie worked focusedly on my arm. I gritted my teeth and tried to remember to breathe behind my homemade mask.
It was fall, my ex-husband had recently died and COVID-19 was in the air. It’s not surprising mortality was on my mind. This time of year, the natural process of death is always forefront, as the leaves turn brown, it starts to rain and everything prepares for winter dormancy. Now, as opposed to three years ago, I feel less upheaval over it — the signs of my own aging, the world as it winds down. It’s good to visit how far we’ve come. Enjoy The Inconstant Moon, and if you still haven’t read The Way It’s Supposed to Be, visit my author site to purchase or review it.
I finally got up the nerve to make an appointment to get my second tattoo, 20 years after my first one. I'd known what I wanted for quite some time. It wasn't until the day I was going to get it, though, that I completely understood what it meant to me.
The Moon
I've always been fascinated by the moon, from the time I was a toddler and named it "noom." Its obvious influence on our planet and artful appearance has kept me looking skyward at night ever since. You can stare up at the moon on consecutive nights, and it will appear differently each time, but in a predictable cycle. Waxing crescent, half, full, waning crescent, new. Comfortingly, it even has a name when we can't see it. Regardless, the whole moon is always there, apparently consistent. But...
It gets about one inch further away from Earth each year, and its tilt on its axis has changed over time. In the past, it has sustained impacts that have altered its landscape, adding new craters and debris. There's no reason to think there won't be more. There has been some evidence that our stolid moon is rusting. The moon, a constant in the night sky with its soothing, reliable cycles, is changing.
In the wee morning hours of yesterday, I observed the moon, Venus close at hand, in its Cheshire Cat form, grinning at me from above. I then fell back asleep on the couch and had a vivid dream that was a very literal interpretation of killing the past. At the end of the dream, I looked skyward to see that same smile of a moon. A letting go of what no longer exists, a look toward the present and future.
Middle Age
Middle age can seem like it sucks. My body is doing all sorts of socially undesirable things -- getting bulgier, wrinklier, less predictable. Involuntary physical change can be distressing regardless, but when it's in defiance of our cultural worship of youthfulness, it can feel downright alarming. Suddenly, I'm different. But I've always been different.
To paraphrase Heraclitus, you can't step in the same river twice; you are different and so is the river. My body is plumper now than it was five years ago, my hair is purple, and (as of yesterday) I have a tattoo of moons along my forearm. But look back a little further, and you'll see a creature with a pregnant belly, a blond bob and a naked forearm. A bit further, a fiery young person with long pink hair and a chip on her shoulder. A strong, tan little girl who happily spends all day in her own head. Remove the societal stigma of aging, and this body I have now, this person I am now, is just the latest iteration. Remove the stigma, and I actually feel pretty damned good about it.
My body is changing. My mind is changing. Yours is, too. In a world where even the moon isn't truly constant, we should expect no less. Instead of fighting the inevitable, wouldn't it be more fun to embrace it?
