On Aging...

I know some readers will laugh at the thought that I am writing about aging today as my favorite's post.  This week I celebrate my birthday...

1. Time goes by quickly.  I don't feel 36, but I am!  Though my body often feels much older, it is weird to be an age that I distinctly remember my parents being.  I was a teenager when they were my 36.  Ouch.  This is a good age...I have friends who are of other generations, and I am accepted as I am...though considered young to some and just the opposite to others.

2. Encouragement.  "Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life."  ~Proverbs 16:31.  I haven't dyed my hair since I was expecting Little Sis (now 8 months).  I'm not sure if I will again any time soon, but for now I am comfortable not dying it despite the grays.  Hair dying is actually something with which I wrestle.  I don't know that it is that different than wearing make-up, which I do at least once a week.    Feel free to share thoughts on the topic.

3. Discernment.  It's amazing how much more I understand of this world now than even ten years ago...wisdom really does come with age.
4. An excuse not to cook.  I'm hoping for pizza on my day...I'm not sure that I can expect that, but I am pretty sure I am not cooking dinner.  (I don't make myself a cake...the one above was my husband's simple birthday cake earlier this year.)

5. Perspective.  This week my doctor told me that I was young.  In a culture that scares women about having children after 35, this was nice to hear from an obstetrician.

I'm sharing over at Living to Tell the Story...and you can, too!  Please consider returning for Together on Tuesdays.  We'll be talking about our favorite location such as a vacation spot or local place you visit.

~ Annette {This Simple Mom}

12 comments

  1. I'd say enjoy every minute you've been given, and praise the Lord. I always try to keep in mind that 10 years from now, if I'm still alive, I'll look back on today and think how young I was - I don't want to look back and think how silly I was for wasting my youth feeling old :) Happy birthday, may it be the best one yet!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Happy Birthday! Hope you have a great day. My family usually takes me out or cooks for me on my birthday. I've offered to make my own cake a few times when hubby was crunched for time, but so far he hasn't taken me up on it. Having a d-i-l now helps. :-)

    I don't have a conviction against dying hair -- I do think it is a lot like make-up. But I've never gotten into it because I don't want to wrestle with roots showing up as a different color in just a few weeks. That would drive me crazy, yet I don't want to have to touch them up every few weeks. I don't mind the light grey streaks so much, but I don't like that my once blond hair has turned a mousy grey-brown, so I've thought about dying it.

    I've enjoyed every age and stage, though I do hate to think that my time on earth is more than half over now. Yet we never know how much time we actually have.

    ReplyDelete
  3. oh and wrinkles, don't forget those! My hair started going very gray about 10 years ago when both of my parents were going through cancer. I had just gotten married, started a new job and bought a new house. I think it was a little too much for me and my hair exploded in gray. I wasn't ready to be gray at 30 years old and have been coloring my hair ever since.

    I turn 40 next year and thought it would be traumatic, but I'm learning that age really is just a number. It's how I live my life that matters.

    Hope you have a terrific birthday! With pizza for dinner and any other treat you want!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Since I will be 40 (!!) in a couple of weeks this was fun to read. I don't feel my 40 years until I sit too long on the floor and my bones hurt!

    I have colored my hair forever, but it has been more to hide the mousy brown rather than the gray! I color my hair and wear makeup because it makes me feel happy (and a bit more confident). (the same way exercising or cooking makes others feel happy...ha!!)

    I feel much more confident now about my choices than 10 years ago so I love that part of aging.

    I remember being told at 36 a pregnancy would be considered high risk and it did make me feel ancient!! It was a brief feeling... that I've long since gotten over!

    Happy Birthday and I hope you get pizza!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Annette, Happy Birthday! I am going to take you out for ice cream (and the kids, but you have to drive). Home made right from the Amish to you but it is made with pasteurized milk. When this heat breaks and I venture outside again. I am going to make sure those kiddies will keep asking for ice cream and to see the cows after we go. hehe. "Kinda kidding" in my best Philly accent. It is the best ice cream I have ever had, better than in Oxford or the other places around (that I know of).

    Guess who?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nice doctor! And happy birthday to you -- hope you get your pizza!!

    I know what you mean about that discernment. Isn't it interesting that we really do grow wiser with time?

    I hope you have a great birthday week, Annette!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you everyone for some great perspective and birthday wishes! Mary, I'm looking forward to that ice cream!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Happy, happy birthday. I hope you got your pizza! That is definitely my number 1 choice!

    ReplyDelete
  9. search engine optimization adelaide

    Happy Birthday to you. Don't worry about aging. As long as you feel young, vibrant and happy. Age doesn't matter. It's all in the mind.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Happy Birthday! I hope you had an awesome day! :)

    I keep seeing more and more grays, but I'm holding out on the hair dye as long as possible. ;P I still remember as a child saying I would NEVER wear make-up or dye my hair. Ha!

    Aging is so hard, but so wonderful at the same time.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hey!

    I've been saving this post in my Reader to sit down and read when I had a quiet moment so that I could hear what you had to say on the topic. I really enjoyed reading this post (and the comments left afterward).

    #1 - I hope you had a thoroughly awesome and fantastic birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! (Did you get the pizza?!)

    #2 - Hair dying. I have thought about this a time or two but ultimately concluded that i don't think I will dye it. (Not out of conviction though. Just personal preference.) Since I have a bit of red hair all my life, I've always taken note of how quickly others with redish hair go gray. The answer? Not very fast. It just sort of fades with time, and I'm ok with that. I think it will be interesting.

    #3 - I confess I haven't really thought about aging much (except in the context of bearing children) and your OB certainly did give you a nice compliment. Mostly I just ignore the numbers. I've always thought it sounded funny to say, "you are only as old as you feel" but I guess in some ways that's very true.

    The only other time I think of aging is in the context of my older friends who I know are technically "running shorter on time" and who i can't imagine spending my life without having around. I think we should all die at the same time. On the same day. :) Sentimentality and dislike of death there. But I'm not supposed to like death, necessarily as it's unnatural. Anyway, I'm starting to babble and go down bunny trails. Interesting post, interesting thoughts!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!