Happy Birthday!

Today I turn 60.

I have heard that the two birthdays where you feel the biggest shift are 40 and 60- and I think I totally get it now.  While I did not really feel it at forty, sixty feels like a moment to pause, look back, reflect, and look ahead with hope.

My childhood and teen years are filled with memories of summers outside, days at the lake or down on the beach, spending time with my family and friends, football games and parties, rides and games on the boardwalk, food we could never get away with eating nowadays,  and the sound of the whippoorwills and katydids as they sang me to sleep.  Those childhood days slip by in the blink of an eye though.

In my 20’s, I was busy raising three incredible daughters- each of whom would grow into strong, successful women I admire deeply.

My 30’s found me back in school myself, earning my degree in animal health sciences and proving to myself that it is never too late to grow and learn.

My 40’s were spent working fulltime (NOT in my degree field, but at the hospital- animal health vs human health, close enough!), trying to find balance in my life.  My girls were growing up and changes were on the horizon.

My 50’s brought a lot of changes, some big, some hard, some beautiful.  All of them have shown me how resilient I am.  It brought new places, new adventures, new friendships that will last the test of time, loss of loved ones, the birth of new loved ones, and a diagnosis I didn’t see coming.

Now at 60, I am settled.  I have travelled the country.  I have wandered and explored.  I am now beginning to feel rooted.  We have property, a garden I love, a kitchen that is always waiting for the next recipe I feel like whipping up, and miles upon miles of trails that call to my running shoes.

Running has become a part of who I am.  I am closing out my 50’s having had the opportunity to run the New York City Marathon this past November (my biggest running accomplishment to date!).  I have run races with each of my daughters, and next year, I hope to run my first Ultra.  Wherever my running takes me, there will always be another hill to climb, and another mile to run.

My 50’s also brought a Leukemia diagnosis.  Today, it is part of my story, but it is not my whole story.  While it has caused me to make changes in my life, it has also taught me how precious health, time, family and friends are.

So, as I begin this next chapter in my life, here is to becoming the person my first 60 years of life have made me.  Here is to the challenges I have faced, the dreams I have chased and all of the moments yet to come.  Today, I am still running, I am still growing, and I am still learning.

I have been writing this post for the past 60 years.  For all that I have experienced,  I am deeply grateful.

Cheers to the next chapter of my life!