Embracing Each and Every Birthday

Embracing Each and Every Birthday

The Many Gifts of Age

This Thursday, March 3^rd is my birthday. Yay! I will be 57. Yikes.  That’s a biggish number. It’s entering the late 50s, with 60 in the not-so-distant horizon.  It’s a number that, in my younger years, I associated with “maturity,” financial comfort, emotional solidity and gray hair. Ha!  I think the only one on that list I unequivocally nailed was gray hair (which I’ve admittedly had since my 30’s and fully intend to keep coloring).

Thankfully, my mid- 50s have been about much more than that narrow list. They have been about arrival. They have been about fully stepping into my authentic self and power.  They have been about being more comfortable in my skin and in my literal jeans. And, they have been about a deeper appreciation of the many blessings in my life. Yes, my knees are worn out, my vision sucks and and my heart was broken from some heart-wrenching losses. But, but those cracks in my heart allowed spirit and magic to enter.

So, I write this for you and for me to remind me on this 57^th milestone about some of the awesome gifts that can come with age. Here’s a few of mine:

1. If I don’t want to do something then I don’t do it. Period. Peace out
guilt and shoulds.
2. I love my friendships. They are real, deep and mutually fulfilling.
3. The number on the scale no longer determines my mood and self-image. Amen!
4. I know with certainty what’s important to me and what battles are worth fighting.
5. I accept myself and my flaws with more grace.
6. I say thank you to a compliment instead of downplaying it.
7. I have gone directly through (not dodged) some seriously hard times and became      stronger along the way. Considering my last few years, I am a Super Woman!
8. And, I am excited about what’s to come, including publishing my book this year!

These are cool gifts. And I know for a fact they are not uniquely mine. I know from my work and from my research that these midlife gifts are present for many of you as well.  And if this picture does not capture you, it’s not too late. It’s all about learning to embrace ourselves and the tapestry of experiences that come with age.

So, yeh, 57 is moving on up. But I wouldn’t have received those awesome gifts described above without 56 years of experiences and the resources to embrace them. So, wherever you are in life, may you embody and embrace it with grace, presence and power.