Today is my birthday.
Another year has passed, another year of learning, another year of heartbreak, another year of joy, another 57 years in my life path.
Another year.....
I may not have the body of youth but this body is going pretty darn well. Of course I do keep up on the maintenance but mostly I just keep putting one foot in front of the other, hopefully with a hop and skip thrown in for a smile and a laugh.
Do I feel older? What does that mean? Is it that I compare youth and aging? No. Let's face it, as the multitude of years fly by our bodies don't feel the lightness of childhood. Then again children don't have the insight of wisdom and patience that comes with the passage of time. I'm still working on both of those but feel them setting a natural course of living in my days.
Do I feel older? I didn't answer that. Hhhhmmm. Shedding 25 pounds did not make me feel the lightness of youth but my feet are happier and smoother. I guess weight causes a lot of stress on the soles of your feet. I still can't jump as high as Tim but then maybe it's because he is over 6 feet and I'm just 5' 3". I do get aches and pains from time to time and don't know how or why it happens. A couple of days ago I did something and my back decided to spasm and tighten up. That makes me hurt but not feel old. It also makes me appreciate life more when I don't have a backache. But I know it will get better with time and perhaps a trip to the chiropractor.
All my limbs move quite well and I have the added bonus of a titanium plate and screws in the right wrist where I broke it years back. That dang neck problem that lasted three long years has not caused me a bit of a problem after I decided that enough was enough. I was tired of driving and paying $70 bucks a visit, and feeling I couldn't do anything without my neck going out. I joined Kokofit (I know I just gave them free advertising) which put me on the road to wellness with cardio and strength training. I changed my eating habits and gave up on some truly beloved foods which apparently loved me the wrong way that I didn't appreciate.
But do I feel older? I feel the passing of time in the passing on of family members who had aged. I never thought of them as old, maybe older, but not old. Yet knowing that we can't live forever somehow helped me understand their passing and with that the warm memories of the times spent with them. I miss them. I can hear their voices as clear as a bell when I think of them. I remember their stories and their laughter.
I regard the fact that now I am one of the elders since all my parents are gone. Tim has his mom as well as an Aunt and Uncle in their golden years. But for me their are no Grandparents alive and no parents. For that I feel at odds. I took for granted that passage of time where we all were well and going about life with gusto. Gatherings, travel, jobs, pleasure were very much a part of those family members and then like a candle snuffed out, they are gone. Yet even while they were living, their parents were passing or had passed, and I am sure these very thoughts traveled in their minds from time to time.
Youth has the gift of no worries of living. They live for today with nary a thought of aging. And they shouldn't. So why should I? And maybe when I do, I'm just thinking too much. Tim does remind me that I do overthink and that never works out. So true. Then again I've accepted my overthinking as the way I work out my brain because if I didn't I might need to be in therapy to figure out why I overthink my life. Crazy right? So overthinking allows me to chew and spit out minutia that clogs up the joy in my everyday life. Uh-huh.
Life has led me on some profound journeys. Some planned and some unplanned. The best journeys are surrounded by my Love as he has been with me so many incredible years. From the teens, to early wedded years when I was a horrible cook, through parenting (and we did parent with kids in the house for over 33 years!), through awful manipulative years with my mom, and in the patient loving times of grief. We've traveled near and far and many more journeys are in our bucket list. I've been blessed with this man, my soul-mate. My children, each as unique, loving, inquisitive, creative, and full of living that sprinkles on me like a fine shower as I continue to grow and continue to learn life's gifts on earth.
Living is about saying "yes". It's not a time to hesitate. Getting older is just two words. What we do will say more than what we won't do.
I don't feel older.
It's my Birthday. 57 years ago my mom, age 25, gave birth to me in Roswell, New Mexico where we lived because my father was stationed at Walker Air Force Base. Thank you Mom and Dad for bringing me into this amazing world. Thank you for loving me as well as you could. If you both could only see and be here with open hearts and arms how much life and love I have, with no regrets, no stone to be left unturned. That what truly matters in life is to be open and honest to those closest to you and to love with all your heart, to tell those who matter how much they mean to you as often as you can. To hold and hug tight and mean it.
