So today I'm 46.
I was thinking back to my twenty-second birthday recently. A memorable one; spent in Cancun with a bunch of sorority sisters. We laid on the beach, snorkeled through the ruins of Xel-Ha, shopped for jangly silver earrings during the day and jumped onstage with the hotel's band to sing "La Cucaracha" at night.
Boy, how young I was then. I had no idea of all that was on the horizon. And how the heck did the years in between go so very fast? How did I get here, to 45 plus 1?
That's midway to 92, an age that seems like a pretty good "mark" to aspire to. And I'm halfway there. Looked at one way, that sounds a bit frightening. Half my life over. That will make the frown lines deepen.
But I choose not to dwell on that in a negative way. I prefer to think this way: I still have (hopefully, prayerfully) an entire life ahead! The past 46 years have been great, and heck, I don't even remember a whole lot about those early ones. Seems like I've been banging around this planet for a pretty long time, so I'm thinking another 46 - or more! - is going to seem like a great run too.
And here's another thing that makes me smile ... I'm loving my life right now. All those people in magazines who tell you it gets better? It kinda does. OK, yes, some things don't; it definitely hurts more to get off the floor after a play session, and I do not at all like the creases between my brows that have appeared in the last few years. There are things I miss about being younger, and sometimes it's scary to watch the days click by.
But ... I have absolutely gained a sense of myself, my place in the world, and an attitude and daily plan that works for me. I've left behind the insecurities that plague most of us in youth, and everyday I get better and better at putting my anxieties in their place. I have great friends and a great family. I have a solid marriage (and to all you newly in love shaking your heads over how "boring" that sounds, come see me in fifteen years). And I am so very blessed and completely happy in my current life role, aka Mom. I'm happy, I'm healthy, and wow, the Ravens won the Super Bowl and I was there!
Yep, life is good! Happy birthday to me!
1 comment:
Happy Birthday Sweet Jodi, I wish you a wonderful day and happy and healthy year to come...
...funny how life flies by so fast and as it does we collect so many wonderful memories, lessons, friends, and the list goes on and on. So glad 'our family' added you to our 'collection' of treasures over the past years! So today on your birthday we celebrate the gift of you!
With love,
Mom/Nanny
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