It happened; this past month I celebrated another milestone birthday. This photo was taken as I was headed out for my birthday dinner. Milestone birthdays come at several times in life. At age 10 you finally reach double digits and you feel like you’re no longer a kid. Age 13 is a milestone because you’re actually a teenager. At age 16 you have the chance to drive a car and at age 18, at least when I turned 18, you were legal which meant you could legally drink a beer (a big deal if you’re from Wisconsin 🙂 ), for most of you reading this that milestone was 21 when you’re legally considered an adult. Then you hit the decades; 30, 40, 50, and my recent decade, 60. I can hardly believe I’m 60! I know I’m getting older but in my mind, I feel so much younger. It’s a crazy milestone number.
60th Birthday – The Numbers Game
I’ve been thinking about my age a lot and I have to admit this year I’ve had mixed feelings about it. For the most part, I’m in awe. I’m grateful to be alive and to be healthy. I think I just don’t like the numbers game. Does the number matter? I think not. Growing older and aging are two different things.
I can never guess the numerological age of most people I meet. It’s just really hard to tell someone’s age these days! I think you can be as old or as young as you wish to be. How you age is partly due to genetics and some of it due to how you live. I’m trying to find the balance between having fun and indulging and being super healthy and fit. I have learned that it’s harder as you age to stay healthy and in shape. Take it from me, I always thought that it was a cop-out when people used their age as an excuse to gain weight or be unhealthy. In reality, some parts of being healthy are just harder to maintain as you get older; especially when it comes to weight and weight distribution. If you’re over 30 you may know what I’m talking about. If you’re over 50, you know. One word; hormones. 😉
60th Birthday Thinking
As I was nearing my 60th birthday, my thought process has changed in the strangest way. For example, I’ve been updating the home I built 18 years ago, and as I buy a range or refrigerator, or as I replace countertops and flooring I’ve thought to myself that this will probably be the last time I’ll need to do this! It’s so funny how our mind works, right? More importantly, I think about experiences differently. There’s more of a sense of urgency over complacency. I think about what’s truly important and I’m trying to figure out what feeds my soul at this point in my life. This includes everything from people, places, activities; EVERYTHING.
Last year I wrote about the things I’ve learned over the years and those things still apply for sure. This year the focus is to look inward and figure out how I can have the fun I want to have while trying to be healthy. It’s also important to learn to accept the changes the years bring and to age with grace. After all, the goal is to live young as long as possible.
Well, here’s to learning more about life in the next decade. I can’t wait to share the journey on the blog and on social accounts.
Wishing all of you a healthy and happy year ahead,
Kim
Last year’s birthday post – 12 Things a Birthday Teaches you
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