I thought about my neglected blog today and decided to seize the moment. So while I should be paying bills, washing dishes, folding laundry, exercising, and doing almost anything else, I’m going to write about turning 39.
I turned 39 in January, and while it is not 40 it is close. Close enough to have me thinking about mid-life crisis type material. The things I’ve done. The things I haven’t. Who am I and what should I be doing? What’s the meaning of all this? Am I living my dream? Why do I STILL not know what I want to do with my life? Etc.
I don’t feel like 39, physically or mentally, but I sure do look it. I just dyed my hair for the first time in 15 years, and it wasn’t because I wanted to try a new color. I wanted to cover the gray. I suddenly care about moisturizers that erase fine lines and hide dark circles. I wonder that despite all the exercise I do things still won’t go back to where they used to be. All of this makes me to feel like a big cliche, and that is the last thing I want to be, at any age.
I certainly can’t turn back time. But rather than think myself into a great big depression about the past and the future, or spend down our savings on skincare products and Botox, I’m going to focus on doing the things that make me feel young. Which leads me finally to the title of this blog post,”39 new things.”
I’d like to try at least 39 new things this year (before my next birthday). It seems like an ambitious number, but not impossible. If I don’t hit 39, I’m okay with that. It’s the process that counts. It’s the “I think I can, I think I can” mentality that I want from this process. It’s that feeling of invincibility you associate with youthfulness. If it scares me, challenges me, pushes my limits, pushes my buttons, or overwhelms me, I want to say “yes” this year, instead of “No, I can’t because…”
On my list so far is a sprint triathlon. I am a terrible swimmer, and I hate biking, but I’ve always wanted to try a multi-sport race, so why not? Life isn’t getting any shorter. And then maybe a marathon…just because I think I can’t. In the kitchen, in the garden, on the ski slopes, in the woods – there are opportunities for changing things up everywhere.
I’m on a quest for empowerment, confidence, and answers. I’m hoping that action, rather than inertia, is the key to unlocking the answers to all those questions that really do seem to start nagging at this time of life. Worst comes to worst, this approach will have me too busy, and probably tired, to think about the next 39 – 50 years.
“A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there.” -Unknown
glip and glop 