Let It All Hang Out

There's an old saying: "Let it all hang out". The meaning I give to it, and what it's meant to mean are two entirely different things. In my mind "All" means body parts!"

I'm an old lady. I've spent my entire life following the rules. Back in the day, I was even a rule giver. The Call of the Wild has a great line in it: "A man with a club is a rule giver". That about sums things up, I think.

Why would an old lady like me want to let it all hang out like this? Well, when you are old, your body parts hurt most of the time. There are many things you can no longer do because of health or financial problems. It gets depressing sometimes. So, you slog along making do and hoping that one day something will happen that will make you feel a little better.

Society constricts us in so many ways. We don't even know it's happening until one day we wake up old and tired and say, "You know what? I am so sick of all those darned rules that it makes me want to take all my clothes off and walk around the house naked!"

For me that day came earlier this year. I was taking off my clothes and getting ready for a shower when suddenly I realized something: being naked really felt good! There was nothing pressing on my arthritic body parts or squeezing my fat. My feet weren't hurting because without shoes, my bunions were not all scrunched up. Fresh air was reaching places it had never dared to go before. I felt great!!

Since nobody was home at the moment, I decided to take a little walk around the house. Too bad I didn't realize that some of the blinds were still open. Fortunately, I managed to duck down before prying eyes could get a good look and then snuck up to each window to close the blinds. Now the house was mine! It made me feel so...so (what's the word?)...delicious!

Unfortunately, my euphoria ended when I passed into the bedroom and caught a fleeting glance of myself in the mirror. At first I thought that old, fat, wrinkled person was my mother, but no such luck. It was just me. It made me wonder what ever happened to the beautiful slim majorette who used to reside in that mirror!

That was the moment when I realized that running around naked might not be such a good thing after all. I mean, if I didn't like looking at at me naked, why would I want to burden anybody else with such a sight.

My poor husband! Was this what he'd been putting up with all these years? Yep, I would have to compromise, but I was not going to give up completely.

Now, every night, I sneak in a few luxurious minutes of nakedness prior to heading for the shower. Sometimes I even forego underwear during the day or slip my shoes off when nobody is watching. I just can't help myself!

Nakedness is one of my guilty pleasures now. I don't get many of them anymore, but by golly, this is one I'm still able to enjoy.

And my husband? Well, I've noticed that there are times during the day when he disappears for a little while. When he returns, he seems to be pretty happy. Maybe he's discovered my little secret and is now basking in some of the same delicious pleasures I'm enjoying.

Maybe some day we can turn off the lights and let it all hang out together!