Sixty

"There was a star danced, and under that was I born." -William Shakespeare

In a couple of hours I will officially turn sixty though in fact, I wasn't born until ll o'clock in the morning.  Unlike some of my friends, I'm not struggling with this milestone birthday.  I am truly, overwhelmingly grateful for it.  It is the birthday I feared I would not get when I got my cancer diagnosis shortly after my fiftieth.  But here I am, healthy, thriving and feeling blessed.

There are some great things about aging.  There is a certain wisdom that can only be gained by living enough years to acquire it.  It is not an intellectual process, but an experiential one.  There is a level of confidence that comes from developing a real comfort in one's own skin, even if the bones underneath it are aching a little.  There is freedom from the pressure of meeting a lot of extraneous expectations.  It doesn't matter anymore.  Been there, done that.  I've already proven I can be the successful executive and the mom who makes the best goodies for the bake sale and the perfect hostess and the snappiest dresser all at the same time.  But I'm sixty now and I don't have to prove anything to anyone anymore.

This is my time.  My life.  My journey.  If I want to be the successful executive and the best hostess and the snappiest dresser, I will.  And if I choose not to, I won't.  I'm giving myself a get out of jail free card to be used whenever I feel I need it, as often as I wish to use it.

Here's to liberation from expectations.  Happy Birthday to me.