The 100 Years Club Installment #95: The Two Types of Skeletons

Last week, I kicked off the “month of fear” ? in keeping with the Halloween season.

Now, let’s discuss Mr. (or Ms.) Bones, the icon you see throughout October.

Two types of skeletons are with you all year long.

1. The kind inside your body enables you to stand straight and move. It protects your brain and vital organs and we have 206 individual bones in our bodies. When you break one, you wind up in a boot, cast, or hospital bed, so as you age, you learn to protect it even more (because those bones can get brittle). The skeletal system has long been the subject of scientific research. (If you’re a total geek, check out the link below.)
2. The ones in your closet haunt you, and the more you keep them locked up, the more heinous they can become. These embarrassing secrets and other haunting factors can keep you from living your best life. If you’re famous, having those skeletons released can be a career killer!

So, we have “good” and “bad” skeletons, like the witches in The Wizard of Oz.

I’ve been working on my bones this year.

That doesn’t mean I’ve been consuming more calcium (although our bones start to decay as we age, and we need to fight against that).

After breaking my ankle in 2021 , I respect my skeletal system more. But even good things can come from bad breaks. My accident prompted me to write a series about living disabled and led to about 3K subscribers practically overnight. (Obviously, once my ankle healed, I moved on to other topics, although I got incredible insights from the experience.)

• Let’s consider the attributes that have held you together and kept you solid and successful. I led a workshop this week with a small group of women , and we talked about our “superpowers,” those innate qualities that make us strong. Consider them your “good bones” and build upon them.
• I’ve been open about the skeletons that still remain in my (walk-in) closet, dealing with them and then burying their bones somewhere they will no longer haunt me (metaphorically, of course). The fact that Halloween is right around the Yom Kippur is fortuitous. We admit our sins and shortcomings and send those skeletons away for another year.

This month, think about what’s inside your body and closet. Embrace your skeletons and love your good bones!

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For more about bones:

The Art and History of the Skeleton

The Skeleton Museum (because there’s a museum for practically everything!)

Skeletons in love

The evils of osteoporosis

Fictional skeleton characters through the ages