Time well spent

I have always believed that getting older would only be a sad thing if I was aging without accomplishing my goals. I always understood that time will pass regardless of what we are doing and that God willing, we will all get older. Over the course of my life, as long as I was able to take inventory and see that I had been productive with the years that I had been given, adding another birthday was a blessing, not something to be ambivalent about. I will admit that crossing into the 40s last year did feel significant, and as I enter deeper into middle age and my children get older, I do have the same concerns or anxieties about what aging will look like for me as most people do.

This past year I have been able to do so much to improve my mental, physical and spiritual health and it has shown in so many tangible and intangible ways. Extracting myself from toxic political, social and professional environments, continuing with exercising but also doing more activities that connect me to the ocean and nature, getting much more sleep and rest, spending more time with my husband and children, reigniting passions and talents that I'd had to abandon for many years. All of that has made my 40th year one of the most satisfying years of my life.

October is fast approaching and with it, my 41st birthday. I have hopes and fears, and I indulge in the moments of introspection that everyone experiences when their birthday approaches. One thing I can say in earnest is that I have never wasted my time on this earth, and I hope to continue making the most of every day that I have.

“I look forward to growing old and wise and audacious.” – Glenda Jackson

“Aging is not ‘lost youth’ but a new stage of opportunity and strength.” Betty Friedan

“The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.” – Frank Lloyd Wright