At this age

I recently celebrated my birthday. Not a milestone, just another year. Each year I feel a sense of relief as I move away from my twenties. Many blessings came from those years - namely, three amazing boys. During my twenties I made several catastrophic judgement errors (I don't like the word "mistake") that lead to much pain. So, as I march away from that decade I am always excited to see what new adventures lie in store for me.

I also heard an interview of Maria Shriver as she was marketing her new book. She said something that was interesting to me. DISCLAIMER: I have not read her book, nor do I know of Maria's stance on any political or social views. But she is a woman older than me who has gained some knowledge in her years and that is why I would listen to her. She remarked on her relationship with her mother as being good, but emotionally distant. Now as her mother is progressing in age and requires some "mothering" from Maria she said that she had the "opportunity AT THIS AGE to be something different than what her mom was to her".

I thought, "Wow, me too!" At this age, I can break free from the examples lead before me and choose to be something different if I want. It is an act of my will (although a very difficult venture at times) to change my behavior and thought patterns to be the person I want to be.

So I think at this age that I will choose to be positive (I will have to work HARD), healthy, happy, and prosperous. I will choose to have friendships with people who make me better. I will choose to let people be themselves and let loose of my desire to control (ouch again). What will you choose to be AT THIS AGE?