It Comes In Three's

It happened just days after my 36th birthday. I was wondering when this would happen and honestly, have been on the lookout for a few years now. The wait is over. I found the first gray hair. Three of them to be exact. It was a moment of, "wait, am I seeing what I think I see?". I had to check with my hubby to confirm and in hindsight - it may not be the best idea to run into a room and ask him in the midst of getting a toddler and preschooler ready to head out the door, "Hey, I need you to come look at something on the top of my head". He gave me a look like either I was crazy or something was really wrong.

There is something about growing older that seems to be nerve-racking for many of us. My closest experience is the dread so many friends (okay, me too up until 28, then I just started to round-up and had 2 years to embrace the idea) felt about turning 30. It is like an apocalyptic birthday. You should achieve all that you expect to in adulthood by then, right? Another thing about turning 30 - you're pretty much no longer cool. That's hard to handle. Now, two of my dearest friends are turning 40 this fall and it's a shrug your shoulders and move along type of event. At least that's how they seem to be handling it.

I felt a sense of pride with the first gray's. I see them as signs of making it through life! Getting to a place where I am really, honestly, gaining wisdom in a way where I am seeing the fruits of letting go of so many things that at one point were SO important. The financial portfolio. The career status. The family status. The way people perceive me. For years I've let go of those items more and more and freed up to make decisions like downsizing in many ways to simplify life. Including willingly knocking down a tax bracket or so to decrease hours at work to have more time to enjoy the people in my life and the beauty of this world around me.

Last night I saw a woman in her mid-to-late seventy's walk into the pool area looking strong and sporting red hair, a tunic top, flowing knee-length skirt and knee high black socks with converse. She made me smile for so many reasons. But one is the reminder that growing older sure can be a heck of a lot of fun. I am loving it!