We're Old

    2022 is the year I and many others turn 40 years old.  I believe I mentally capped at age 28, I just don't feel older than that, although, I am realizing so many things about me have changed since then.  I don't know how old you are, but I think it's safe to assume that you have also changed in many ways throughout your life.  Some things force you to change, like having kids, or trauma and hardships, but there are other times when you just decide to grow your own way.  That's what 40 feels like to me.  

    It's exciting and I actually do enjoy getting older.  I keep loving myself more and more as I circle around the sun.  In my 20's I wanted everyone to like me.  I'd change who I was to fit in and although I had a ton of friends, I never really felt known.  In my 30's I started to understand that in order to be fully known and have life-giving relationships, vulnerability, humbleness, and forgiveness would be the most essential part of achieving that.  And so my circle grew smaller but my heart grew happier.  And now, I sit on the edge of 39 and look at 40 with wide eyes and an expectant sense of growth.  And it really does make me happy.

    Aging is truly a gift.  There are so many lives that I have seen cut short.  And I'm just kind of exhausted by the superficial culture we live in that does its best to make us feel bad about crow's feet and getting older.  I want to be a part of a community that not only embraces aging well but also celebrates the true gift that is. We have a voice for a reason, and I refuse to be silent about the sneaky way that world tries to insinuate that our worth depreciates as our age increases.  To be honest, I think it's quite the opposite.

     Have you ever sat down with people older than you, and listened to the wisdom they have gained simply because they've been around a lot longer than you have?  I guess I am a bit biased, seeing as I grew up in a bingo hall, but "old" people are awesome.  A few times a week I would be enlightened by the joy that elderly people expressed as they shared tidbits of their truths.  A little old lady once told me that she's done learning.  I didn't get it then, but now having technology and new apps come out faster than I can keep up with, I laugh as I understand the concept and her sass.

    I hope that where ever you are in your life you have a sense of appreciation for those that came before you and a sense of excitement at the truth is and always will be, the very best is yet to come.

Enjoy life.