Saying goodbye to Peter Pan

     Well, Disney wasn't the only one who turned 40 this year!  Yes, moi turned 40 too!  I only have a few more months and I will have completed an entire year of being 40 and I must confess a lot has changed. All the things people talk about happening to you when you hit 40 are true!  Imagine that!   Things I have heard people talk about, but apparently just thought they would never happen to me.  I was living in the land of perpetual youth.  I was flying with Peter Pan until I hit 40.  I wasn't sure whether to fight my aging as "everyone" tells you to do or embrace it.  I wasn't sure whether to work with everything I have to keep a youthful appearance or just accept the change.  How do you embrace a  new ache or pain every morning?  Or my hair becoming grey overnight?  I no longer go to get it colored just for the fun of it!  Or what about my skin and hair getting so dry?  Do I forever hold what I am reading far away from me, or break down and get me a pair of those darn reading glasses?

     But for every disappointing physical change I have experienced, I have experienced the opposite internal change.  I much more confident than before I turned 40.  As much as I want to be liked, I am much more at peace with the fact that there are people that are just not going to like me, and I am okay with that.  I accept more readily what I am comfortable doing and what I am not comfortable doing.  In other words, it is far easier for me to prioritize my time than before.  It is okay to say no and feel a bit guilty.  I appreciate the smallest things that went unnoticed before.  I notice a hazy blue sky or blooming flowers in a pot.  I appreciate the aroma that comes from a savory bowl of soup or  fresh wet grass.  I don't mind taking my time and enjoying the journey.  I think I am ready to say goodbye to Peter Pan.  I think I just might embrace my age gracefully, with a little color now and then, that is.  I am happy where I am and I am happy to move forward.