Growing Old Gracefully (in my mind)

With every Christmas season, I’m reminded of my age. My birthday happens to fall during the same week as Christmas, so it’s inevitable. For the last several of these “reminders”, I’ve wanted to pretend that I’m any age other than the one I actually am. It’s hard for a woman to talk about her age; we’re afraid of looking older than we are or sometimes even admitting we’ve been alive as long as we have.

While I still felt the same way about my recent “reminder”, I think I’ve come to terms with growing older. At least, in my mind I have. While there’s nothing graceful about gravity’s effect on aging skin, there is a certain grace that I have achieved within myself. I’ve become more accepting of others’ flaws including my own. Softer, if you will. I can remember when my desire to challenge authority was so strong that I stood in the way of myself, sometimes. Refusing to be wrong under any circumstance is not the way to win friends or influence people.

My 20’s was a decade I spent discovering myself and making mistakes. Lots of them. Mistakes seemed catastrophic to me at that time; think Chicken Little. During my 20’s I was naive and trusted blindly, often before thinking things through. Everything was by the seat of my pants. While I can’t say that everything has changed, these days I’m a little more kind to myself about mistakes. They happen, and the world isn’t going to end because of them. There’s great comfort in just knowing that no matter what, I can handle it. That includes getting older. I’ve earned my battle wounds and have the wisdom and strength to show for them. I will always do what I can to stall the physical signs of aging but I will wear my age proudly for the simple fact that it shows I’m not a newbie to this world.

Ok, so I’m not going to shout my age from the rooftops but I’ll accept growing old, gracefully. At least in my mind. ;)

P.S. This old bat knows a thing or 2,  so don’t try to pull the wool over my eyes. And you kids get off of my lawn!