365 Days

Today I turn 39. I feel like I should be making a big deal out of the fact that this is my last year in my thirties, like the next decade of my life will be a suffering path to nothing. Why do people dwell on age? I have so many friends that are well into their 40s, 50s, and even 60s. They seem to be finally finding themselves, knowing who they are, having the time of their lives. This gives me hope, inspiration. I remember the days of being a preteen, thinking life would be over when I hit 40. I would be old, and doing nothing. I would like to think just the opposite. I would like to think I have not even started yet. I feel like I have not touched the surface, I have so much more I want to do, so much more I want to accomplish. I would never go back to my childhood nor my teenage years. They were hard, crappy years. Why do people not look forward to the future, to learning, to growing, to making a difference? Why is there such a negative label on growing older? I plan to make the next year, the last year of my 30s a year of change, a year of preparing for the next decade. We are surrounded by too much negativity and not enough optimism. I refuse to make growing a negative experience. Growing is positive. Right? Here is to my last year in my 30s. I look forward to new beginnings in my 40s. I look forward to growth and more importantly I look forward to being a mother and being the positive person my boys need me to be, the positive person I need me to be.