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I’m Not Afraid of Getting Older
In fact, I’m enjoying it
My mother is still 38. That’s what she’ll tell you if you ask her.
On my 38th birthday she sent me a card.
“Happy Birthday! You’re in the 38 club now!”
The next year she sent another one.
“Happy Birthday, 38 again!”
I used to think it was silly. I wasn’t afraid of getting older. In fact, I was enjoying it. Every year gets better as I get to know myself more and feel more confident in my own skin. You couldn’t pay me a million dollars to go back to being that anxious, self-conscious girl I was in my teens and twenties — I love the older, stronger, happier, and calmer me!
Then I realised what my mum was doing. She isn’t afraid of getting older. She’s making a point — ageing is in your mind. My mum is one of those larger than life people. She acts young and vibrant at 66 (don’t tell her I told you her real age!). She’s relatively fit and active, but more importantly she doesn’t put limits on herself based on her age.
That’s what she was trying to teach me.
Ageing backwards?
I’m 41 now. (38 for the third time.) But I feel younger in many ways than I did in my twenties and thirties. For a start, I’m a lot healthier…
