BIRTHDAYS, AGING AND MINDSET

My 47th birthday is approaching and I’ve already begun celebrating.

Celebrating where I am and appreciating more than words can express, the clarity I feel in my life about where I’m going and also, why the paths chosen and decisions made were exactly as they meant to be.

I did not, at age 21, anticipate having a baby at age 44, nor did I think I’d be creating a bone broth company to first sell at local farmer’s markets and then retail.

If I were to list on paper now, all the different things I’ve tried, jobs I’ve had and directions I’ve chosen, it truly does line up…now.

There were always certain things I knew; I knew I loved cooking, creating beautiful food and being a resource for family and friends when it came to the topics of exercise and nutrition.

I’ve always loved moving, too; from swim team starting at age 4, to setting a goal to being the fastest female runner in first grade (even though the goal was based on the idea that if I were the fastest girl, the fastest boy, who I had a huge crush on, would ‘like me’), to learning about and making the decision to compete in triathlon.

These are just a few examples of what I knew I knew… but only recently have I discovered what I know I knew then, too, but subconsciously.

I now know that there’s a plan for everything, and even when it doesn’t line up the way a mere human thinks it should, that there’s a reason for it, one which may be beyond comprehension at a particular moment in time.

I also now know the importance of being still and meditating, that answers can sometimes come to you when you ease up and stop chasing them, as opposed to pushing harder and working even more against the grain.

Another discovery that took place not that long ago: I now see the importance of some of the fundamental lessons my mom taught me by her actions, above and beyond her words.

Her guidance when, as a young child feeling anxious about going to school the next day, was to tell me to think about something else, was actually her showing me that I could choose what I’d like to think.

The stoic manner in which, during 30 years of living with MS, she never uttered a single complaint but rather, would say how grateful she was that her MS did not cause her pain, and that there were other types of dis ease that did, which actually shifted her from any slight chance she could’ve chosen to adopt a victim mindset put her, instead, in gratitude.

And perhaps above all else, the manner in which she chose to believe that anything was possible and that there is never a reason not to try.

And now, as a mom myself, three years after her physical passing, I feel her energy, her guidance and her love every day as I lean into doing my best to raise a son who is an intelligent, conscious, incredible human being.

I believe a birthday is to be celebrated by mother and child alike, as I know now (one more thing to add to the list) that the shared process of birthing a baby is untouchable; nothing else compares.

As year 47 begins tomorrow, I feel more calm, more focused, more at ease and in so much appreciation for all life has to offer.

I laugh, wholeheartedly, when someone with the best of intentions, tells me that I look ‘good for my age’; it no longer makes me feel ‘old’.

I feel more fit than ever, and grateful that I can chose to train or exercise, and know that my body looks lean, my clothes fit and this continues without the feeling of ‘having to’.

I know now how to choose the foods that nourish and support my lifestyle, and embrace having learned to enjoy eating all the foods I love (because I chose only the ones that serve me).

And I now know that loving more than your wildest dreams may ever have presented you is not only possible, it’s a feeling that we humans are all capable of, if love is where we are coming from in the first place.

Having a son, my teacher day in and day out, is by far, the most incredible reason I have to celebrate.