HELLO FRIENDS!

As 2024 comes to a close, I like to reflect and celebrate.

I want to be clear; it isn’t always easy to celebrate. Some years aren’t as good as others; that is just facts. I have shifted my mindset over the years (with LOTS of help and work on myself) to focus on what makes me happy and appreciate the little things in life. It helps me when looking for something to celebrate at the end of another year.

It sounds cheesy but here are the cold hard facts: At the end of 2019 I wasn’t sure I would make it through 2020. That is my truth.

As I have said before, when you are faced with your mortality everything becomes crystal clear. But that doesn’t mean life gets easier. It actually means it can get more complicated as you go against the grain of what is considered a “normal” life path.

It is also a lot of work.

It is worth it because although my life isn’t perfect and it can be complicated at times (and I will say this always – who’s life isn’t?) Being very focused on my purpose and my well-being gives me something to celebrate always.

This year as I sit down to reflect, I think my main take-away is: Aging is a privilege.

Every time I move into a new year I am grateful for it, and sure that also means, I am getting older.

This might be controversial to some but I am truly loving getting older.

With age comes wisdom, and it sounds cliché but it is oh so true.

Those lived experiences are EVERYTHING!!

I recently caught up on DM with my friend Tamara, who I have known since I was 11 🤯, and she told me that she feels “braver and bolder” the older she gets and I thought YES GIRL, YES! I love hearing stories like that.

Far too often we ONLY hear the other side of female aging. Menopause. Aches. Pains. Memory Loss. Bathroom Issues. Retirement. All of the things that are VERY valid, and important to talk about, especially with people who GET IT so that you feel less alone. I will always support (and need) that type of conversation and community with my people. But here is the thing…

I don’t want to JUST focus on that.

There is so much beauty in getting older that I want to lean into more. Especially because by doing that, I feel empowered to conquer the “not so fun” parts of aging.

There has been a big movement lately to remove the term “anti-age” from some of our skincare and beauty products and I get it. Words matter, and that wording makes it sound like you are using these things to STOP aging. Realistically we know that isn’t possible but I am sure there is wording that better supports the aging process.

We can’t control aging but we can control how we react to it. So I would like to focus on the things I can do to assist me in aging well and celebrate all the wonderful things that come with getting older – like knowing yourself better, caring less about what people think about you (most of the time!) …and so much more.

This year I will be leaning in HARD to aging gracefully because I have said it before and I will say it again – AGING IS A PRIVILEGE. Not everyone is fortunate enough to experience it, so I don’t want to bitch about it (at least not all the time 😏) I want to truly celebrate the beauty of getting older, do you want to join me?! I hope so, because I want to hear your thoughts on how you do aging well. Sharing our stories is a powerful thing.

If you aren’t there yet with aging, that is OKAY. Follow along and hopefully, we can help you get there, together!