Being Sixty

Being sixty. 

Today I am sixty. Ten years older than my mother ever was. Older than many of my high school classmates who left this world too soon. Today I am older than I have ever been, and younger than I will ever be. 

The face in the mirror is still familiar, but showing its age. The same can be said for the rest of me, but although caring for my health is a priority, I don't want the natural effects of aging to be my only focus. 

Being sixty is a privilege. Being sixty has allowed me to be a wife, a mother, a teacher, and 
now a grandmother. Being sixty has provided me the time to know and like myself. As 
Socrates so aptly reminds us, "The unexamined life is not worth living." Being sixty has allowed for wisdom to mature. Being sixty has allowed me the freedom of time no longer belonging to someone else. Being sixty has afforded me friendships that began in childhood. 

Being sixty is a privilege, and not something to be overlooked or denied. So I will approach this next decade, not with trepidation or sadness over lost youth, but rather with a sense of possibility and adventure looking forward to each new birthday I am blessed to receive.