Another one

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me . . . . It’s funny, in the last few years I have had a definite change in the way I look at the mounting birthdays I have had. At one time, I was ashamed of how old I was getting, and I did everything I could, short of absolutely lying, to disguise how old I was.

Now that is diametrically opposed to the way I was as a child. I so longed to be "older." I could see nothing but good from being older. Then, suddenly, I was older. Oh my! In this culture I was older. That was absolutely horrible. This is a youth oriented society.

Another reason I tried to hide my age was that when I was working, I was working with 12-13 year olds. They think 30 is old! So my goal became to hide my advancing years as best I could. Fortunately, my skin is good. I don’t smoke, and I try to avoid the sun. I finally accepted that my German/Irish/English skin was never going to tan, I would only burn. Then my mother developed melanoma when I was 23. She died from that disease three years later, I was more dedicated than ever to stay out of the sun.

I began having my hair highlighted to cover the grey. I did this for so many years I had no clue what my real hair color was. I finally decided that was an expense I didn’t need. So I stopped doing that too. I should add that I was already retired when I did that, plus now I wear a wig because my hair never looked that good anyway.

Now I accept my age with what I hope is grace. Every day is a gift. It’s a gift I don’t deserve, but given never the less. I live each day and enjoy what it brings. This day brings me my 61st year of life, and it has been a full life. I have so many things for which to be grateful. I just hope there are many, many more birthdays.