Gentle Reader,
I spent so much time on the phone today. Good conversations, but I’m really feeling the need to crawl up in my introvert ball.
Kate says: anniversary.
Go.
Tomorrow is the thirty-fourth anniversary of my birth. At 1:16 p.m. I will officially slide into the middle part of my third decade.
I’m supposed to dislike that. I’m supposed to feel bad about aging, the gray hairs and the fine lines. Men become “distinguished” with the passage of time. Women are rarely given that moniker. Instead, we are pressured to spend thousands of dollars attempting to make ourselves look as though we are, at most, twenty-one.
Dude. I don’t want to go back to twenty-one. I don’t want to go back to any year of my life. Why should I strive to appear as I did in one of those years?
I like getting older. With each passing day I learn, bit by bit, how to stand my ground when it matters and how to let it go when it doesn’t. I no longer feel too self-conscious to go out in public without makeup. I don’t believe myself to be “ugly” because I have curly hair. I read and grow and think.
I’m glad to celebrate another year because I know that God is with me. Nothing that will come my way in the next days will be anything that I face alone. He is present. Faithful. Good. Kind.
I am happy to be His daughter.
Stop.
“You may choose to fight me, young man; but remember, I am old for a reason.”
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And…
Happy birthday to you,
your faith brightly shines through
the gloom of this world,
Oh, Marie, we love you!
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And thanks for the birthday kindness!
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This truly made me laugh out loud. I can picture my dad saying that to someone. He’s small in stature, but everyone I’ve ever been friends with has been intimidated by him.
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Happy Birthday, my friend!
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Thank you! I’m so glad that I know you. ❤
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Happy Birthday, Marie! Hope you have a lovely day!
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So far I’ve eaten food that I’m not supposed to and had a nap with my dogs. What’s better than that? 🙂
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Preach it, sister! Although I’d enjoy the energy of youth, I certainly wouldn’t want the trials of youth! I’m proud of my gray hair (what’s left of it 😉 ).
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Have you ever seen the show “New Girl?” One of the characters, Nick Miller, says that he’s happy to get older because he feels like he’s growing into his personality. The scene then cuts to him as a child, yelling at other kids to get off of his lawn. I relate to that so hard. 🙂
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Amen – and happy birthday! As I’ve hit the “milestone” birthdays, I’ve always been happy to be celebrating where I was rather than wishing I was younger. Sure, it would be nice to have some aspects of my pre-40 body, but I wouldn’t trade away the years.
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Thank you! There’s something truly special about getting older. I think if we embrace it, as God intends us to, instead of fighting it, we can be so much happier.
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My wife is just past 60 and she still dyes her hair. It’s not because of me.I’d be totally fine if she went around with that “silver fox” look.
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Hahaha! I’ve told Chris that he’s not allowed to have opinions about my hair because he’s bald. (Not that he truly cares. All he ever says is that he doesn’t want me to get “a boy haircut” but he can never really define what that means).
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I’d have to guess buzz cut or high and tight. 😉
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Happy birthday! It’s nice to find someone who is comfortable with the inevitability of aging. 🙂 I wouldn’t want to go back either—but that doesn’t stop me from coloring my hair. Lol
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Thank you! I don’t care about or judge others for dyeing their hair. I’m simply far too lazy, beauty-routine wise, to do it. I’d have a good 6 inches of grow-out before I dragged myself back to the salon.
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My husband, who is 7 years older than me, has much less gray hair. That’s the only reason I color mine, and I do it at home because I’m a tight-wad. 🙂 But my roots show sometimes. One of my sons once said, “Mom, your gray is showing. You might want to tuck that back in.”
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More years ahead
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Thank you!
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Happy birthday, dear Marie.
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Thank you so much!
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I hope you had the happiest of birthdays. I love what you say about getting older. I hit the “big 50” this year and I am finding that I like to go out without makeup. And I’m even liking my grey. Most of all, I too am His daughter and that is the best gift of all. Joining you from FMF. Have a fabulous year!
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