Thankful Thursday: Change

Yesterday, I walked with a good friend. We walked and talked, and because we talked, I barely noticed the walking–which is always nice! What did we talk about?

Change.

Well, no, not by name. But her son is six weeks into his freshman year of high school, and I wanted to hear all about it. Because why? Well, because I care, yes, but also because last year, we walked and talked, and she heard all about MY son’s first year of high school.

Changes. Or as I sometimes like to refer to it…Chaos.

What am I thankful for today? I’m thankful for this friend, and the others, who have walked and talked with me for the past decades, who have listened to me and shared with me, who have been a huge part of my dealing with and adapting to change. And I am thankful that as I get older, I’m just less timid of new things, less worried about–and this is a biggie–the unknown.

I’m in my forties. (Hint: I won’t be able to say that for much longer.) I have less free time than I used to. It takes me longer to recover from exercise than it used to (not that I DID a lot of it, even then). I have more pairs of glasses than any one person should own. There may be just a hint of arthritis starting in my fingers (yes, those fingers that get my stories out!). I have lines on my face that weren’t there before–I swear  they’ve just popped up out of nowhere. My memory…what? I’m sorry? Did you ask me something?

But guess what. I’ll take ALL of that. Because the biggest change that has come with aging, for me, is learning that all change isn’t bad. I’m not saying it’s easy, but it can be handled. It can be faced, even welcomed. And, you know, what? It can be fun.

So I’m thankful for, I guess, the experience that comes along with the wrinkles, and I’m thankful for the support and community I’ve grown right along with the aches. Between the things I’ve managed to learn and the things my friends are still teaching me, you know what?

Life is good.