On Turning 56 and Leaning In
The last few months, every time I thought about my birthday, I thought about turning 55. Then, one day I realized–I AM 55. What? I’ve never minded my age, never feared getting older. But this whole nope-you’re-already-55-you’ll-be-56 has thrown me for a loop. So, what does one do when they feel like they’ve lost a year? How do you celebrate a birthday? What do you do with this year? I’ve pondered this during the last week, wondering about goals or a theme word for the year. Then, while mindlessly scrolling Instagram reels I saw a clip from an interview with Brene Brown and Oprah. Brene was talking about vulnerability and joy. She told a story about a man who said he was always afraid of the joy-filled moments because he was waiting for something bad to happen. So, he stayed ‘in the middle’, never being too joyful so that if something bad happened, he was ready. If something good happened, it was a nice surprise. Then, in his 60’s he and his wife were in an accident and his...