I'll be 36 years old in less than 24 hour. "Ooooh big
deal,"….I know, I know. But it's really close to forty and that scares the
crap out of me! Why? Because it means that my thirties are almost over and once
I hit that 40 marker, I'm no longer going to be able to get away with things I
do now without risking that "She's acting too young for her age,"
stamp placed upon my stress-lined forehead. Some of these things include
wearing distressed jeans, shorts with a 3 inch seam, going out to clubs (ya,
like I'm doing that anyway), etc, etc. Though if you asked my fifteen year old,
she'd tell you I should probably stop doing most of those things anyway.
The thing is, my age is catching up with me….and faster than
I anticipated. With every new ache, wrinkle and random other thing that
develops on my person, I'm realizing that I'm SOOO much farther away from my
youth than I want to be and I totally took it all for granted.
As I was on the stepper machine at the gym today, I thought
to myself, "You need to kick 36's ass this year!" I had to stop
myself from laughing out loud because I'm sure to the many senior citizen's
that were there while I was, they'd probably give anything to be 36 again and
here I am complaining like it's the end of my life.
The truth is, I need to not take it for granted. Rather than
let my mind flash forward to my Golden Years (God willing), I need to embrace
the new opportunities that my next year of life may bring. Yes I totally need
to get in shape, so I will be kicking my own ass this next year. I need to slow
down and enjoy this so much more because it honestly feels like I just turned
26, as I remember the day like it was literally last week. Time is moving
faster and faster and I can't seem to keep up with it and in the process my
body is changing in some undesirable ways, and without my permission.
Life practically goes by in a finger snap and I want to
enjoy it the best I can, moles, wrinkles, cellulite and all!
-EJ
