Aging

"You wouldn't be so old if you hadn't lived so long." 

Aging is like Quasimodo. Many fear it. Many find ways to hide it. And in the end, it is the one thing that will bring you comfort after turning your back on it for so long.

I am bringing up this topic today because in just 4 short days, I will have surpassed 35. Something about crossing the mid-decade into the end decade, that makes it feel final. This happened to me in my 20s.

I know. Ridiculous. Which is why I wanted to talk about this topic and ask you to share with me your thoughts on aging.

The irony here is that with aging comes wisdom. You have to get old to get wise. It's a necessary evil.

Is it Just Me?

I remember the first time I felt "old". I had turned 28. That was it, I thought in my ignorant youth. I was in my upper 20s and 30 was looking me head-on. Life is over as I know it. I will get gnarly wrinkles and sagging skin.

I look back at such a trite thought and laugh. The funny thing is I don't really want to go back to that age. As much as I loved how hot I looked (just a tad conceded), I like the wisdom garnered in my 30s... so far. At 31, I probably would have taken 28 over 31. But at 31, who has really experienced what it means to live in your 30s?! No one unless you are Benjamin Button.

Now that I will crossing into the upper decade of 30s, I don't have those horrific things I thought back in my dumb 20s:  

Sagging skin... I don't have it (yet). In fact I am still pretty high and tight as my teens and 20s. This probably has more to do with 1) not have a child, 2) weight/strength training that keeps my bosoms and rear in check, and 3) Diet. 

Fine lines on the face... Sure, around my eyes.  The lines between my brows have deepened (the only shallow thing that bothers me), as have my laugh lines (sue me! I am a happy person. Smiling & laughing is what I DO!), but when my husband says "You are hotter now than when we first met [12 years ago]", from a man who doesn't lie, it tells me I have aged well... or love is blind. *laughing out loud*

Let's Not be Shallow

Aside from all the shallowness, be it a weakness for acceptance or a hurt ego, aging has a lot of depth and good.

For one, I would rather age than be dead.

Two, I get to do more things. Who doesn't want that? Visit the countries I haven't been. Collect more finisher medals and a couple division winnings (running in case you were wondering). Add a tick mark for another marriage anniversary shared with my sweetheart. Add more photos and cards to our growing shoe boxes, and get more albums to add to the iPod library and Wall-o-CDs.

Who cares about the wrinkles (well, I sort of do...yeah, I am a little shallow like yourself). There are solutions to this. Face cream (medicine cabinet full), good lighting, and medical advances like a face lift (too extreme) and Botox (right up my alley!).

And sagging skin... Listen, this is one of the pros of being childless. My natural boobs hang like a new pair. And being a fanatical runner and cross-training freak, I have naturally kept bingo arms and an ass-knee at bay. Drink 2-3 liters of water day, and your skin will be baby soft and smooth. Party hard, and you will wake up with skin flakes all over your sheets.

What Do You Think?

So really... What do you think about aging?

Wisdom over wrinkles?

Accomplished goals, successes (and some failures to learn from), experiences, and memories over sagging skin?