I'm old(er)

Today I turn 45. Every year I make myself promises to myself about how I'm going to be when my next birthday rolls around. While most of those promises are abandoned throughout the year, and I may be thicker around the waist (and let's face wider in other places and sagging in places I wasn't before) and have more wrinkles and gray hairs, in other ways I've improved.
I'm stronger, physically, mentally and emotionally.I'm more resilient - I bounce back much more easily than I used to.I've learned that it's okay to say "no." I do not let people take advantage of me. I take "me" time.I ask for help.When I'm in a rut, I switch gears When I feel overwhelmed, I slow down instead of break down. In the last five years I have become a different person, I think for the better.  For a time, I was a shell of a former me, and I finally broke out of that shell and became a new and improved me, more like my younger self, the self I lost along the way somewhere. 

If I were to give someone words of wisdom from an aging woman it would be this: 
Never compromise who you are for anyone. Never put aside your dreams for the dreams of others, though if you need to, work on them side by side, hand in hand. Never let yourself be manipulated into something you don't want to do, you could find yourself there for a very long time with no way out. Always surround yourself with people who will be a positive force in your life, who will support you when you need them - those people you know would move the earth for you. In turn, be that person for them.Be good to your children and your parents, always (unless there is a VERY good reason not to, I think you know what I mean).Happy Friday everyone. Hug your mother and have a drink for me today. Saluté!