Marilyn Monroe died in her thirties and for some reason I thought that would be a good age to die... before you got too old.( I was sixteen ) When you are that young anyone over twenty is suspect. When I was eighteen I hit it off with a new friend, I asked her age one day and was shocked that she was twenty five! I remember thinking ... omg... she is OLD !
As thirty came closer for me so did motherhood, and once you have a child , the most important birthdays will become theirs. Well meaning older people warned me to enjoy them because they will grow up too fast , why didn't I pay attention? They didn't tell me about regretting time lost or frittered away. If I had it to do again I would work less and play more (with my kids). To make up for our birthdays becoming less significant we now have a day all to ourselves called Mother's Day. That's a 'time out' day from what ever crisis is happening , looming or just passing. Enjoy it... milk it... savour it... it's only one day, make it count....
Marilyns age came and went and I couldn't even imagine that I once thought that would be a good age to die! The thirties were a blur of working, raising kids, running my own business. I do remember getting close to forty and living my age, older by one year, than I actually was ... now how did that happen?? I was somewhat pissed about that but then again I got to live that year over again at the same age.
Then came my forties ... omg... it was official , once in your forties your life is half over. Why were the forties a blur as well? Work and raising teens, now there's a job that will age you faster and take years off your life to boot! I actually went through a mini 'change of life' mid forties and painted the whole inside of my house. Dark green here , a russet colour there , bright yellow in the kitchen , orange downstairs... and I just didn't quit until I did the whole house, no wall was safe from my paint brush! Whew.... that felt so good... I would have knocked down a wall or two had I known how to. It still feels good when I think about it. (dark green became the rage three years later )
The big five 0 was the most traumatic birthday of my life , the tears and the melancholy were almost unbearable. How did I get to be so old so fast? Where had the time gone... those older people were right, my kids were grown up already... and how did that happen so fast? Another strange thing was happening... along the way our parents were getting younger as we aged. Oh yes... we were catching up with them !My fifties passed while I was in a holding pattern. Life happened around me and I felt the best part of it was gone and something was missing. I was very unhappy with my life but lacked the courage to change it. Always working, not working was not an option and being self employed running a business is the hardest work of all... your job is never done.
Oh sweet sixty... I actually celebrated this birthday with a sense of relief. I was finally free of perceived hang ups and protocols and ... and... there are NO RULES when you turn SIXTY ! You are on your own, you are officially and old person free to express your opinion about anything and everything. You are free to be who you are, I really didn't care what anyone thought and I started to make changes in my life. The changes started off small... my outlook on life started to change and before I knew it , I was out of my holding pattern and charting my own course. I said goodbye to my marriage of forty years. Sold the family business to the kids, moved into a condo and started to explore the world. Today is the anniversary of my freedom, it is also my birthday. Now how was I to know , all those years ago, that my sixties was going to be the best time of my life? I am soooo excited for the year ahead.... happy birthday to me!
As thirty came closer for me so did motherhood, and once you have a child , the most important birthdays will become theirs. Well meaning older people warned me to enjoy them because they will grow up too fast , why didn't I pay attention? They didn't tell me about regretting time lost or frittered away. If I had it to do again I would work less and play more (with my kids). To make up for our birthdays becoming less significant we now have a day all to ourselves called Mother's Day. That's a 'time out' day from what ever crisis is happening , looming or just passing. Enjoy it... milk it... savour it... it's only one day, make it count....
Marilyns age came and went and I couldn't even imagine that I once thought that would be a good age to die! The thirties were a blur of working, raising kids, running my own business. I do remember getting close to forty and living my age, older by one year, than I actually was ... now how did that happen?? I was somewhat pissed about that but then again I got to live that year over again at the same age.
Then came my forties ... omg... it was official , once in your forties your life is half over. Why were the forties a blur as well? Work and raising teens, now there's a job that will age you faster and take years off your life to boot! I actually went through a mini 'change of life' mid forties and painted the whole inside of my house. Dark green here , a russet colour there , bright yellow in the kitchen , orange downstairs... and I just didn't quit until I did the whole house, no wall was safe from my paint brush! Whew.... that felt so good... I would have knocked down a wall or two had I known how to. It still feels good when I think about it. (dark green became the rage three years later )
The big five 0 was the most traumatic birthday of my life , the tears and the melancholy were almost unbearable. How did I get to be so old so fast? Where had the time gone... those older people were right, my kids were grown up already... and how did that happen so fast? Another strange thing was happening... along the way our parents were getting younger as we aged. Oh yes... we were catching up with them !My fifties passed while I was in a holding pattern. Life happened around me and I felt the best part of it was gone and something was missing. I was very unhappy with my life but lacked the courage to change it. Always working, not working was not an option and being self employed running a business is the hardest work of all... your job is never done.
Oh sweet sixty... I actually celebrated this birthday with a sense of relief. I was finally free of perceived hang ups and protocols and ... and... there are NO RULES when you turn SIXTY ! You are on your own, you are officially and old person free to express your opinion about anything and everything. You are free to be who you are, I really didn't care what anyone thought and I started to make changes in my life. The changes started off small... my outlook on life started to change and before I knew it , I was out of my holding pattern and charting my own course. I said goodbye to my marriage of forty years. Sold the family business to the kids, moved into a condo and started to explore the world. Today is the anniversary of my freedom, it is also my birthday. Now how was I to know , all those years ago, that my sixties was going to be the best time of my life? I am soooo excited for the year ahead.... happy birthday to me!
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