Hi
Everyone!
Let’s
jump right in!
Ok.
I’ll put all the cards on the table…I am turning 49 this year. Yup. That’s me.
Closer to 50 than 40, and MUCH further from 20 than everJ
But
you know what? I really don’t have much of an issue with getting to 50. Heck, I
mean, if life were really a battlefield and to just be “endured”…then I’ve made
it almost 50 YEARS!! That’s not too bad. Sooooo many things have gotten me to
this point- bad things and good things. I don’t have a problem with them.
Whatever has gotten me here has happened and barring any sort of Tardis Time
Traveling Phone booth, there’s not a darned thing I can do about the past. So,
why let it mess up my Present and, gasp!, Future? That’s something to ponder
for the next blog! J
What
I AM finding is that people have more of a problem with me getting to 50 than I
do. And what’s more- is they seem to want me to actually feel bad about getting
older. I’m just not understanding that. Why should I feel bad for aging? Is
there something so horrifically bad about getting older that someone forgot to
tell me?
In
my Geriatric age I have learned a couple things. One of them is that you cannot
be afraid of aging because when you get old “everything falls apart”. That’s
not true. I know of a little boy in Florida whose body is “falling apart” and
he’s only 10. It can happen to anyone at any time in their lives. And if you
eat right 80% of the time and get some exercise for your Mind, Body and Spirit,
then what happens…well, it happens.
Also,
I have learned that it’s not about how “good” you look when you’re getting
older. It’s not about “aging gracefully” and it’s CERTAINLY not about how much
money you have (although a nice amount would be great so I can take a trip to
Italy!). What is about? I talked about this in my last blog.
It’s
about what you’ve done. It’s about who you’ve touched. It’s about whether you
made a contribution or you took without giving back. That’s all.
I
have a few wrinkles around my eyes. I have some “spots” on my face. I have grey
hair that I have not accepted enough yet to not color every couple months. Looking at my flabby belly sometimes brings
tears to my eyes. But
you know what else brings tears to my eyes? Looking at these young girls (my
students, my daughter, my nieces…) and trying to get them to understand it
REALLY is about how beautiful you are inside and that a strong/caring heart IS
the most important thing to have. Being healthy is much more beautiful and
attractive than being “perfect” looking. There is no ideal. There is only YOU.
And the best that you can do is take care of YOU. You are beautiful- no matter
who you are, what you are, what you look like or how old you are.
So,
despite all of the naysayers out there trying to, consciously or
subconsciously, make me feel bad for getting older, I think I’ll “stay the
course”. I’ll take the wrinkles and age spots. I don’t want the flabby belly,
but I’m pretty sure I’m stuck with it.
I’ll
take all that and move on to 50. Then after that 60…Then after that 70..Then
after that 80…
Thanks
for reading!!!!!! As always Stay Healthy, Eat Well and Be Happy!
And
as John Green says- “Don’t forget to be awesome”!!!!!
