Thoughts on Turning 33

Who has ever joked about turning another year older?! I know I have. It can be easy (yet slightly painful) to laugh about new found wrinkles, trading late nights out for early nights in, peeing your pants when you sneeze, choosing comfort over style, catching yourself saying things your parents say, thinking high schoolers are starting to look like babies, complaining about music being too loud at the bar, noticing grey hairs, not being able to get over how short girls are wearing their shorts these days, or your new found appreciation for being carded. I could probably go on but I will stop myself there. 🙂

The thing is, although it’s fun to laugh and joke, aging is a true gift. It took me awhile to realize that; I can remember having a hard time turning 30 thinking I was all “used up”. Who even says or thinks that about themselves? I am covering my eyes monkey emoji right now at the thought of those words coming out of my mouth. When I said that in front of Cody he told me he never wanted to hear me say that again. I am not sure why I went through a brief moment of “woe is me” but luckily, it didn’t last long.

We get to choose our perspective on aging. When you look at the alternative, aging seems like a pretty sweet deal. Not everyone gets the opportunity to grow older. A simple mindset shift of viewing aging as a gift rather than something to frown upon can change the way you approach your life. Why would we ever give into the notion that turning another year old is a bad thing. It is a beautiful thing.

I do find it interesting that when you are young you want to speed up time and hit milestones like driving, turning 21, getting married, etc. and when you are older, you miss the good old days of no responsibility, college, etc. I mean really, life was pretty sweet when the biggest decision of the day was whether you wanted to have peanut butter and jelly or cheese and crackers for lunch. Instead of looking forward or backward, I challenge you (and myself) to live in the present moment and enjoy every single day, month, week, year, and birthday. Your days make up your years and your years make up your life.

Today I turned 33 and I feel so much peace in my life right now. I am so thankful for all of my ups and downs because it has turned me into the person I am today. I have been reflecting the past few days and I have come to the following realizations about aging:

I am more comfortable with who I am now than I have ever been. 

Wrinkles, stretch marks, and scars tell the story of who I am. Why would I want to change those?

Early nights in, in place of late nights out, means quality time with my husband and dog which feed my heart in a much deeper way. 

Peeing your pants when you sneeze (or do a jumping jack in barre class) typically means you have experienced the joy of pregnancy. 

Grey hairs mean you are becoming more wise. I actually made that one up but it sounds pretty legit, right?

Your circle of friends becomes smaller but the quality of your relationships becomes stronger.

You care less about how you look and more about how you treat people.

You no longer take life for granted. 

You treasure every day you wake up in a healthy body. 

You spend less time thinking about what you don’t have and more time being thankful for what you do have. 

As this new year of life begins, I hope to remain thankful for all of the blessings in my life. I plan to embrace this season of change as Cody and I become parents. I hope to always remain rooted in God and continue to focus on what is truly important in life. What has been your favorite part of aging? What lessons have you learned? Share below in the comments section.