Growing older

I like this age!

We are enjoying our summer in Iowa, time with friends , time with Evie, time with family. Pretty normal stuff going on. Today is my birthday so I thought I'd share a little about how I feel about growing older. I actually love it which I know may sound strange to some but I like where I am at in life.  Here's a little list of what I like about growing older:

My baby photo

Janie 3-4 y/o

1. I've now out lived my mother by almost 20 years and I don't take that lightly. I think of all the amazing days I have had in those 20 years and it makes me sad that she missed those kind of days and thankful for each additional day I am blessed with. 

2. I know what I don't know. Remember when you are young and you literally think you know everything? Well the years have taught me how little I know and it is now easy to admit I don't know anything about a lot of things. Even the things I do know, well there is probably a lot more I can learn about that too.

I was a dancer?

3. Gray hair and wrinkles are ok. I'm actually a little surprised I can admit that. About a year ago I decided it was time for me to embrace the fact that I have gray hair. I quit coloring it and once all that finally grows out I will truly have gray hair. John likes it. He was gray in his 30s so he is happy with my gray hair. As for wrinkles, I think they are my badge of honor. I earned everyone of them...motherhood will do that to you.

High School Senior

4. Other people's opinions of me matter less as the years go by. I'd love to say they don't matter at all but that would be a lie. All my life I have been a people pleaser,  just part of my personality and that still is there to a point but I recognize it and try to keep it in perspective. Now I try to do the things that please me and make me happy rather than just the things that make others happy.

5. I still have the wonderlust and now I'm not afraid to endulge it. I think I had this when I was younger but was too afraid to run with it. Our full time RV life had let me embrace it. I still have so many places I want to see that I'm sure in this lifetime I won't get to every place on the list. Part of that is I do like the slow road, staying long enough to get a feel for the area, not just a taste. 

Trudy and Janie out cruising

6. Knowing who your friends are and who you can count on. We have many friends in our lives and many come in and out of our lives but there are those special few who are constants. You know those when you haven't seen or spoken for months on end but when you do connect it's like time disappers and they have always been right beside you. Then there are those who are new friends and those connections are still being made. The RV life has also added many friends to my life and I am blessed to have them as a part of it.

7. Having experienced lasting love in my life. I feel very lucky to have found a partner in life that has shown me that love can last and can grow stronger as the years go by. We've been married 32 years and the time has flown by. We have weathered some storms along the way and I am sure there will be a few in the years ahead but together is the way we will continue to be strong.  Thanks John, for loving me.

My true love and partner in crime

I'm sure I could find a few more but that's enough for now. I've had 60 years of blesssings to count and if the number of my days would end tomorrow I would know that I'
ve had a great life. So every day forward is another day to enjoy being older and each day is a day to celebrate. Cheers!!

Happy trails.................................................