GREENSBORO, N.C. — It's time for my "2 cents."
Is age...really just a number?
As a mom in her 30s, I sometimes lie awake at night as my mind races with variations of this daunting question: "How old will I be when...?"
How old will I be when my kids graduate high school, get married, and have their own children? How old will my parents be at these milestones?
It seems that with each passing year and each fine line, I am more conscious of life's monumental moments in terms of age. Ten-year high school reunions suddenly turned to 15, colleagues were born in the 2000s, and children I used to babysit now have finished college. My oldest baby is now four.
Life is going so fast, and I am powerless to stop it.
Something happened recently that gave me a sobering perspective on this way of thinking. My husband's boss and longtime mentor passed suddenly of a heart condition at age 54. The loss was beyond devastating to all who knew him. I remember his wife at his funeral, speaking so bravely through tears, testifying how he lived every day to the fullest, treated everyone like a friend, and loved wholeheartedly.
We can do everything we can to fight aging, be our healthiest selves, and pray to live to be 100 with full cognitive function. And yet, the truth is this — tomorrow isn't promised. We must ask ourselves not, "How old will we be when..." but rather, "How fulfilled are we now?"
Age is a number — a beautiful reminder of how blessed we are to be alive. Let's try not to waste a moment or opportunity to be happy.
Sincerely,
Meghann
