….And I’m not referring to all that crap the AARP has started sending my husband and I. Do they keep a record somewhere of just exactly when each citizen in the US is going to turn 50 so they can get you to jump on their bandwagon and take advantage of all that they have to SELL you ASAP? Uncanny how all of a sudden, there it is, in your mailbox, exactly when they think you should start paying attention to their stuff.
What I’ve learned in my first 50 years (hoping for a second 50 but we all know every day is a gift):
It’s true – LIFE IS SO VERY SHORT. And you don’t really feel or understand that until you’ve lived it for a while. Time does indeed speed up as we go along. Remember how ENDLESS summers felt when you were 8 or 9 years old? It stretched on forever. Not anymore.. it’s a blip. If you blink three times, you might miss it. Looking at the history of the World, our life span is just a period at the end of a sentence in a long essay. I have indeed learned to appreciate every.single.day.
THIS, TOO, SHALL PASS. Whatever it is that has you crazy at any particular time, you won’t always feel that way. It won’t always BE that way. Here’s a biggie…some things you have power to change, some things you don’t. Regardless, don’t waste too much energy in “the craze”… because it isn’t here forever and neither are you. Let it go, accept, move forward. (If my family is reading this right now there might be a snort or two.. .just hush – it’s a work in progress. )
TRULY, DEEPLY, AND ABSOLUTELY, LIKE YOURSELF. I don’t say “love” here, because that doesn’t come easy to a lot of us, so lets be realistic and start with LIKE. When I was young, oh I had my opinions and my ideas and desires on what I wanted my life to look like and who I wanted to be. But I also didn’t have a lot of faith in myself – that old self-esteem issue – and caved to what others wanted me to be. I didn’t often -follow my bliss-, nurture my creative side, pursue what I was capable of accomplishing, I didn’t believe in ME. First on the agenda as I have matured has been to be true to myself, my beliefs, accept my shortcomings, admit and correct them where needed without beating myself up – and nourish creativity. I also don’t give a flying F if someone just doesn’t like me for whatever their reason. Tell me – Why is it so important, especially for women, that we are -liked-. It is, though, isn’t it. We want to nurture, protect and take care of… and we want to be liked. It all starts from within, not outside sources. Took a long time for me to figure that one out.
This is my 50th birthday month. I’m very OK with that, grateful ,absolutely. I can say without a tinge of cringe.. that I love who I have become. Perfect? Heck no. But good enough for me. There aren’t a whole lot of pictures of me when I was a younger person… and those that were taken tell the story of someone who does not feel comfortable in her own skin. Look for yourself…
Graduation celebration when the world was indeed my oyster, but I didn’t know it, afraid to open it! I rarely smiled big back then, because I didn’t trust to be that happy in the moment.
Taken two days ago…
I’m more than OK with 50. I finally like me a lot, wouldn’t want to be someone else, am proud of what I’m accomplishing, accepting where I fall short, and am trying where I can to leave this world a better place where I am able to touch it. While I’m not jumping for joy over the hearing loss, the wrinkles and dry skin and grey hairs that greet me in the morning, I do like what I see,… I know it’s a privilege. ….and I smile… big.
I saw this mug in a store last week and bought one for my daughter and one for myself. Love the saying.. yes, this.
