My cousin was saying something about turning 30, and I started thinking about how I feel about getting older. Of course, who wouldn’t want to look and feel like they did in their 20’s, but I wouldn’t go back there for anything. So, I thought about what the decades in my life have taught me.
I see my 20’s as a time for first time experiences, becoming a wife and mother, getting new jobs, learning how to do the grown up things of life. The decade of gaining experience.
I was actually happy to turn 30 because I felt I would finally have some credibility. I had worked in an office for years, so I had lots of experience, but I was still considered a kid until I turned 30. My 30’s were a great decade of growing and stretching. I faced some serious things in my 30’s. Facing loss through miscarriages, terminal illness in my daughter, and then losing her brought about a strength in me I never knew was there. It also brought an empathy for others I had never known. I definitely grew and stretched as a person in my 30’s.
I call my 40’s my confidence decade. I had so much more confidence than I ever had in my 20’s and 30’s. As the years in my 40’s rolled by, I found myself concentrating less and less on the physical me, and more and more on the real heart of me. My reasons for jumping on the treadmill or trying out a new workout routine had more to do with being healthy and gaining strength and energy than fitting into the perfect pair of jeans. Oh, I never stopped dreaming of being thin and looking fantastic in a pair of shorts, but I also came to the realization that no matter how hard I worked on diet and exercise, I wouldn’t have a perfect body. My best realization in this decade was that I should choose to expend my greatest energies into being the best I can be inside because beauty is fading. My family and friends deserve my greatest energy expenditure.
My 50’s are here, and though there are moments I feel some trepidation, I mostly look forward to what this decade may bring. I’m sure it will have days of deep sadness, but through my life I’ve learned I can survive great sadness. I’m sure I will also have days of great joy, and I look forward to those precious days. Mostly, I figure I will have days of just breathing in the life around me and counting every bit of it a true blessing. I look forward to my 50’s as being my wisdom decade. I will count it a true honor and privilege if I am able to share my life lessons with those around me.
I hope for many more decades after my 50’s, but I won’t know what those will hold until I’ve moved through the one right before me. What I am sure of is that blessings lay ahead in each day I’m given.
Debbie's Perspective 