What did your birthday make you reflect on?

I've never been ashamed of aging. Of course that notion is only even considered when you're well into your years of adulthood. After 21 it seems like you're supposed to start counting down your shelf life. Yet I never exactly felt like I was chronologically my birth age anyway. It's no wonder that many of the friendships that felt so much easier to build on were with people who were older than me. Maybe because my curious mind always wanted to learn something I didn't already know, and I somehow thought I could find it in another age bracket. Or my old soul just wouldn't let me care too much for shenanigans my own age. Either way, birthdays always came with the relief that I was now a year wiser than before. Coming into 35yrs of age felt like kind of a big deal. For the first time I've noticed age on my face. Little fainted beauty marks that could never be traced on my fair skin before. They now sit so visibly

Me comically announcing my 35yr old milestone to friends and family

clear on the face I've religiously moisturized since my early 20's. The lines are now fighting their way to settle in on my forehead. I remember a time where there was just an acne mine field there. Now I'm reminded of the confusion and worry I've apparently showcased too frequently on my face. The laugh lines are my favorite. It does nothing for picturesque beauty, but oh how I've laughed and trust me it shows. All of these new physical attributes are things I've just gradually gotten use to. But there's nothing that makes you reflect more on your age than children. The thought of having a growing boy who has moved past his first decade of life, I mean it really makes me pause to let that sink in. There is this little human who has inlayed his whole hearted trust in me for all of his life thus far...trusting my love, my judgment, my wit, and never questioning my reason. Now the ideas and thoughts that he conjures up in that smart brain of his, they have their own power. So many times have had that power to change mine too. For the first time, since about my 15yrs of age, I started to make a bucket list again. The unfiltered dreams and ambition that my son exhibits for the things he loves made me really wonder why we as adults ever stop dreaming. Why we deliberately put a time stamp on things or cloud them with the overwhelming weight of this reality we predict can't exist parallel to our inner child's biggest ideas. It's so hard to break free of the links that keep us chained to "adult" responsibilities. The routines we become looped into to make a living or make ends meet, that sometimes also make us miserable. Shouldn't we carve out just a little time to make a balance? You deserve to let that inner kid run free once in a while, and maybe even live out one of their ambitious dreams.