Just embrace it

So it’s almost my birthday and because it is supposedly a ‘milestone’ age a lot of people have been asking me what is happening or how I feel and the likes.

Honestly, I do not know; I do not feel bad or scared and as usual I feel no extra excitement to make noise about it and the likes. I do hope to receive gifts though so my wish list is available.

I have been thinking a lot lately (which honestly is something I do excessively anyway) and one thing I do know is that I am old- not in a bad way but I am aware that I have aged not necessarily because of the number of years I have spent on earth but the quantity of things I have experienced and I know.

Maybe in an attempt to trivialize this growing old/entering my thirties matter, I told myself that it was just my body entering its 30^th year and wondered how a 30 year old ‘body’ should look. But it occurred to me, that to have spent that number of years on this dusty earth mehnnn I am doing ok oh! Really like count 30 years of food (good and bad), water, tears, laughter, pain both physical and emotional, dirt, rain, sun (killer heat), cold, hunger, illness and injuries, medication, human beings’ lies, deceit and disappointments, contact with other bodies, near death experiences &struggles and the list just goes on and on and on; I cannot help but be grateful to God because I know people whose bodies didn’t get the chance to celebrate 30 years on earth.

As humans we have been blessed with the gift of ‘mending ourselves’ and that consoles me at such a time as this, Lol!

I have no birthday blues and I have no intentions of letting anything or anyone upset me; truth be told there are a lot of things that I do not yet know and I do not yet have however I am grateful because it could have been worse.

I recognize that I existed before my body and when the body’s time here is up, she shall go and part ways with me who existed before her.

One of my favorite movies is “Death becomes her” starring Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn (google is ya friend if you do not know it) and I must admit I do not blame them for trying so hard to remain youthful and beautiful forever; you have no idea how scary it is to watch your body try to catch up with the being who existed before you. I have never been one to hide my age yet you don’t know the joy I feel when I ask people to guess my age and they call a figure younger than I am – whether they are lying or not, I believe them! Finish!

My birthday 2 years ago, a friend of mine prayed for me that I will age gracefully, my mind, my health and physical appearance; it was such a sincere prayer I think I believed he genuinely cared for me after that day and I also believed his best wishes for me without a doubt.

But unlike Meryl and Goldie’s characters in the movie, I know there is more to life than physical appearance so I am grateful that there is still a streak of vanity in me: that I have the luxury of thinking of my looks and I am not a victim of some of life’s unfortunate events like homelessness, hunger and mental instability which would have rendered me so low that how I look would not even be a thought!

So today I celebrate life and I celebrate the gift of aging!

*** the first image is a card I fell in love with and had to buy