Growing up is easy to do
When I was 18, 34 sounded so incredibly old and boring that I knew my life would be over by that time and all the fun experiences had to be had before I hit those golden years. I could not have been more wrong. Getting older is the best thing that has ever happen to me. I have never felt more comfortable in my own skin, have never been more sure of who I am, have never sat in each moment so happily as I have since hitting my 30’s.
Recently I have experienced a few moments of realisation that 1. I am getting old(er) and 2. This is a really good thing.
Let me pre warn you that these following words are a little harsh, and totally judgmental. I have noticed of late that the majority (not all of you!) of twenty somethings constantly have their heads down, looking at their phones, and/or are dressed like they have spent way too long trying to look like they don’t care what they look like. Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, it is part of growing into a well adjusted adult, but thinking back to when I was in their position a lot of the time, deep down, there was always a feeling of being unsure. I could never really live in the moment because I was too concerned with how everyone else saw me, too worried about how my hair looked, or too drunk to actually know what I was doing. Each birthday that passes me by I feel more grateful that I have everything I could ever want or need, my life is not exactly as I planned, it is better.
This makes me think, how can we teach our kids that the pain and dissatisfaction they experience in their early days is fleeting, that all too familiar term of ‘this too shall pass’ is so very true and in hindsight brings so much wisdom. This life is not meant to be lived in just the first half, but fully and completely in every day, until our last day. They say youth is wasted on the young, but if we can remain fit, vibrant and healthy until well past our 80’s then can we not live as young one’s with wisdom throughout our lives? It is my goal in life to lead by example and show my daughter that getting older does not mean we need to stop having fun, that even though as we age we carry more responsibility this does not need to stop us from dancing, climbing trees and doing handstands on the beach. It would be very easy to get caught up in the daily grind of paying bills and feeding our families, however this does not need to be the ‘be all and end all’ of life, rather we can lead exciting, passionate and vibrant lives each and every day. The only way we can teach this beautiful fact of life to our children is by living it ourselves, when they see us embracing our full and rich lives even as we develop wrinkles and grey hairs they will begin to understand that getting older is not a bad thing, rather exciting and adventurous.
The memories I wish to leave my daughter are many, the experiences I wish to share with her as we both grow older are passion filled – I will climb trees with her as a 5 year old, dance in the living room through the dreaded teen years and travel the world together at 25, I will teach her that growing up is easy to do.
Alicia xxx