Age

This time of year is always very reflective for me as we celebrate our childrens' birthdays which are all clumped together within a 3 week period. As I watch my children mature (all are in there 30's now) I find it amazing how time passes so quickly and how our perception of ourselves evolves. There is a part of me that has truly had a hard time accepting that my kids are the ages they are because deep down inside I don't feel old enough to have children their ages. It is easy to say I feel and think like I am still in my 30's myself....but when I really search deeper, I realize that through my adult years my mind has always tended to want to stay about 10 years younger than I am. So mentally I am holding onto my late 40's. As long as I don't stand in front mirrors too long, I am happy fooling myself. Oh, my body speaks to me with it's aches and pains of my true age, but those aches and pains soon become built in excuses for not doing some of the things I didn't like doing in the first place!:-) Though there are many things I would like to still be able to do that I was able when I was my kids' ages, it is also nice to know that I am not expected to do them any more due to the possible risks.
Aging is interesting. When I was young the thought of someday being in my fifties was very scary. Having had grandparents die in their fifties, I felt it was when your literally fell apart. Well, I do feel some deterioration, but I am still functional, and for the most part able. It helps to have a mother who is still very active at almost 80 to keep me looking ahead with determination and hope. My perception of age has changed. Fifties, old?...No way!...Just older. I tend to look at those older than myself with different eyes. I see the person, not the age. If they act old...then they are old. If they are still functioning well, alert, and are able to see, experience, and appreciate the good things in life, then they seem ageless to me. They are the ones I hope to be like...ageless by continuing to live life with optimism.