Privileges of Aging

Today is my birthday.

Birthdays used to bum me out. Getting older used to bum me out.  Until my mom died seven years ago. Ever since then, I've embraced aging. Not everyone has the honor and privilege of aging. This hit home once again for me this week. (See my previous post below.) Aging should be embraced and not something to be dreaded. There are so many great things about getting older.

• I care much less about what other people think of me. It's freeing.
• I have more money saved, so my life is more freeing. I don't worry about living month to month or losing my job.
• Not caring about losing my job has actually allowed me to ENJOY my job very much. It is my CHOICE to be there at work.
• I've got a ton of memories and photos to look back on.
• I look good FOR MY AGE. Sometimes when people find out how old I am they are shocked. :)
• I've mellowed a bit so that things bother me less now. I used to get worked up about everything.
• My gray hairs are almost like highlights.  Almost.
• You can start sentences like, "When I was your age..."

 I will have more photos and stories about my birthday in a later post this week. For now, enjoy this post by Todd last year on my birthday.  

And this photo and video from my 35th birthday surprise a few years back.

)

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And I ran, I ran so far away

Well, not really that far, just 3.8 miles. After work we went to Miramar Lake to run. The weather was nice, perfect for running (not too cold, not too hot). The sun was on its way down the horizon. I ran well, but I felt funny and my limbs felt tingly, which alarmed me. It felt like a panic attack might happen. But it didn't happen, so I'm thankful. Ever since the rollercoasters at Knott's Berry Farm on 9/29, I feel like my brain's wires got re-tripped and I've been more on -edge than I had been. I think I took a step backwards in this brain-rewiring process. So the lesson learned is that I need to be careful about some adrenaline pumping activities, like rollercoasters, and skydiving. And who knows what else. I'm already a very defensive driver as it is. But when my brain is hyper-alert, I jump when someone pulls out in front of me, or if someone backs out of a space in the parking lot too fast while I'm in the lane. I jump. This heightened sense of alertness is also not as fun for sleeping. This too, shall pass. I know that. I have faith that with some self-cognitive behavioral therapy, and my medication, that I will be just fine.

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Skydiving Video

On the right side of my blog I've added my 2005 skydiving video. I still think it's pretty cool, hee hee. If you want to watch it, please pause the music player on the left first by double-clicking on the "II" pause button. Otherwise the audio in the video clip will interfere with the music on the left. Enjoy! By the way, the dive took place on March 6th, 2005... 13,000 feet (and falling) over Perris, CA.

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Ha ha! Well, this photo was taken by a skydiving photographer while all three of us were freefalling at 120mph! I think my hair looks pretty good for going at that speed. :-0 I used Gina Cabrera's American Dreams kit, and the stamped To-Do List is hers too. I don't know about hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro... worried about altitude sickness, especially with the latest news about that dude who almost died climbing Mt. Everest. I'm not THAT die-hard. I just want some cool achievements. Hmm... speaking of knitting, I haven't in a while... all those yarns sitting there going to waste. And now it's getting warmer, and I hate knitting in the summer. Maybe I'll knit with some cool summery cotton yarns...

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