I turn 40 in exactly 8 months and 13 days!!! Forty!!How?Where did the years evaporate to?Just the other day I was 25.Now I am a turning 40 year old woman who is more than ever aware of her mortality and the dreaded monster called aging.Since time immemorial,man has been searching for the mythical and yet elusive fountain of youth.We all desire to stay young and being called young is a compliment.When we are young,we hate being called kids and when we age,we want to be called young…(rolls eyes)
“I am convinced that most people do not grow up..we marry and dare to have children and call that growing up.I think what we do mostly is growing old.We carry accumulation of years in our bodies, and on our faces, but generally our real selves,the children inside, are innocent and shy as magnolias.” Maya Angelou captured it perfectly in these few words.We just accumulate years and gain a little more knowledge every day.I have not grown up, I am still the little girl I was years ago, I have just gained some experience and known a few more things than I did then.Did I grow up? I may have, to please society- because it is expected of me, but it does not necessarily mean I enjoy it.What I am sure of, is I am as young as I feel.Growing older does not mean you lose sight of the excitement.It’s interesting what society expects of us when we reach a certain age.Why do I have to be all prim and proper because I am a Mom?Who gets to decide what is right or wrong? Who says I cannot wear ripped jeans because I am 40? Who died and made anyone judge and jury?
Life is fickle.You may be here today,gone tomorrow.Life is for the living. You ought to really live.Read all the books you can, walk in the rain,enjoy sunsets.Sit outside on a moonlit night and watch the stars.Fall in love.Play with your children, keep in touch with family.The best thing about growing older is the realisation that I live life on my terms. I have no tolerance for fake people.Two faced individuals with fake smiles and fake love.I keep it real.I have realised that how I love now and how I loved in my twenties is different.Experience teaches you a thing or two about character judgement.If today I had the same choices, but knowing what I know now, I would not choose some-actually, most of them.
I am looking forward to being 40.They say life begins then.I am not afraid to love.To give my all. I am not afraid to try out new things.To be bold. My bucket list is overflowing with things I would love to do before I die.I will strive to do as much as I can, but I will enjoy life in the process.Life is too short to be wasted on trivialities.
“You don’t stop laughing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop laughing.”~George Bernard Shaw~
Carole's Musings... 