46

Tomorrow I’ll be
Forty Six
Four Six
46
Just four years and I’ll be 50
It’s scarey… the time
In particular,  how it flies
 I have always been acutely aware of  the process of aging
I wouldn’t say I obsess over it, but the weight of it has always been there
like a stone in my pocket
One summer day – I was 20 – I sat on a beach in a bikini
Basting in baby oil, of all things…
and I looked at my limbs, youthful and muscled and tan
but not yet mottled with sun spots, as they are now
I remember so clearly ..thinking…
Enjoy this time, this wearing of YOUTH
It won’t last
One day you will look down and things will be different
Enjoy it..now
And I did
Youth was not wasted on this youngster
because I was fully aware of its temporary existence
I did appreciate almost every detail
minus the zits and heartbroken angst
While it was mine
Now in middle age as things start to weaken and creak
I need to remind myself to appreciate all that is still working and healthy
because it is truly a gift, not a given
I carry that stone in my pocket now too
My birthday wish this year is for some kind of peace for the people of Japan
some saving grace, some respite and rescue
a ressurection from the devastation
that is their home
*****
OK, and maybe a pony…….
because some things never change  🙂

37 thoughts on “46”

  4. Weren't you the cutie-pie! Oh, but you still are. I just turned 54. You're a youngster. It does go fast. Way too fast. Happy Birthday, my friend! (You're also a year wiser. Mustn't forget that…)
    Brenda

  5. What a great post! I will too be 46 in a few months. I figure every wrinkle came from a good laugh, every pound gained came from good food shared with great company,and probably a glass of wine or two… not from fast food! The creaks are from years of picking up my daughter, comforting her tears…. The things I have forgotten have been replaced by memories! Enjoy every second of every day! Happy Birthday!

  6. I've enjoyed catching up with you!

    Those chickens are gonna be a lucky lot.

    You will always be young.

    'Cause I said so.

    I hope you get a pony!

    Tomorrow night, I'm a goin' out & wearin' my slutty shoes. 🙂

    That card cracks me up, and thank you!!!!

    Happy Birthday, buddy. 🙂

  11. I think I may have some vague recollections of 46, maybe… nah, maybe not. It's been a while. "Happy Birthday!"

    PS: "Thank you!"

  12. Oh, my gosh! You are so very, very adorable in that pic!
    I think for your b-day you should bring Opie and the pony-kids home! They want to be a part of all the coop happenings, too!

    Have a wonderful day, Karen!

    ~ A birthday is just the first day of another 365-day journey around the sun. Enjoy the trip~

    xo, misha

  15. How beautiful! You should really make this into a small book – a line or two on each page, with accompanying photos. Everyone of us who has a little age can relate.

    Hope you had a wonderful birthday, and if I had a pony…I'd send it to you!

  17. I agree with Jemsmom…I'd send you a pony if I possibly could!!! Happy Happy Birthday Karen!! Enjoy 46!!! Now…to make you feel younger…I just attended my stepson's birthday party the other night … he was FORTY!!! Yikes.

    Now I'm the one that feels old.

    At 52.

  18. Happy Birthday! (We almost share a birthday, by two days.)
    It sounds like you were wise even when you were younger. My mom is always telling me how young I am. She's 89 : )
    Have a GREAT day!

  19. Speaking from my lofty perch of 53, 46 doesn't sound too bad! lol

    It's all good. Being in your 50s isn't so bad.

    Happy happy birthday!

  24. Happy Birthday Karen! Hope you have a wonderful day!

    Yes, our thoughts and prayers go out to all those in Japan. My dear friends from our church got stationed there last year. Her husband is in the Navy's nuke program on the USS George Washington in northern Japan. He was aboard the ship docked when it hit and said the carrier got sucked to within 5 feet of the bay the base is in, and popped back up. Her ans their little 1 1/2 year old daughter were in the NEX parking lot and said all the cars starting violently shaking back and forth and the ground was going up and down in waves. The first big one actually lasted 3 min. very long for an earthquake! She said when it finally stopped eveyone came running out of the store shouting tsunami run for the hills. It then started snowing suddenly. She said it was nice enough out before it happened that she didn't even wear a jacket. Her house is 15 min inland and in a hill so she got in the car still badly shaken and headed to the house. Her husband who could not leave the ship sent her and the baby on a plane the next morning as he being a nuke said things were very bad, maybe even more so then they are saying. She is now here safe and sound but very concerned for her husband and all the friends she left behind, still very shaken up. Her husband said that the military has gathered all sailors and put them on the ship and have moved a little further out to sae because they have detected heavy radiation levels in the clouds that winds have shifted towards them. The military since Wed. have told all dependents to leave there belongings and get out and are flying them out and using boats to get them out. It is a heartbreaking situation, and my heart goes out to those folks in Japan.

  25. Happy Birthday, Karen! The aging process is not on my favorites list – I miss the days of firm skin, no age spots and the feeling of being immortal.

    Have a wonderful day.

    xo
    Claudia

  34. So take a photograph of you today…at beautiful, vibrant 46, and tuck it away.

    And remember THIS day, this moment, as you did that day at the beach so many years ago.

    Then take that photo out again at 56, when you will bless that day with your gratitude, for all you have been, and all you have become.

    And trust me, you will look at that photo and think: I ROCKED 46, didn't I?

    Happy Birthday, my friend

    ♥ H-

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