I’m 39 years old today. 

Holy shift.*

I used to be so bothered by my climbing age.  But the longer you live, the more people you see pass— each year is a gift and treasure not everyone receives.   So let the numbers sky rocket.  I’m thankful.  So, so thankful. 

I watch others who have climbed into the next decade.  I watch them carefully.  Listen to their words and read their social media posts on their birthdays.  I want to see others who do this age thing well.  Most of them laugh and smile and joy comes through.  And the ones who don’t, I really find boring honestly.  I’m glad for women who don’t hide their wrinkles or grey whispy hairs.  And who try brand new things.  And then get good at them.  I think that’s what “aging well” really means.  I hope I age well, too—in my soul.  I want the gratitude for each year to fill up my inside and pour over.  I want to be as good at 39 as I can be.

I thought about writing one of those blog posts that start “Dear 19 Year-Old Krista…” but I kept thinking that seems like a book and not a blogpost.  And I’d never hand my 19 year old self a book that gives her the inside scoop on the next 20 years.  I’d let myself walk through every year, choice, trouble, surprise, and beautiful moment again— feeling her way through it all, knowing so little, and learning so much.  A great quote I read this year by Joseph Campbell goes, “If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it’s not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. That’s why it’s your path.”  I think I know so little still.  But, at 39, I feel much more comfortable on that dark, twisty path that is my life…what a bore to have it all lit in front of me.  I like the revealing. 

So, it is my birthday.  I added a fun IG stories template to my Instagram if you want to save it for your birthday, too.  It is a quick list of goals for my 39th year.  I have more detailed and even bigger goals for this year…but these are the ones I feel most comfortable sharing now.  I don’t care if goal setting on your birthday is cliche or expected.  To me, it feels like a fresh start at important things.  Like another step into the dark…and I love that exhilarating feeling. 

Visit my Instagram to see my post.  Feel free to download the template HERE as well.

Happy January 14th, 2019 ya’ll.

 

*At times, I slightly change curse words so that if they leave my mouth in front of my kids and their little heads whip around to correct me, I can confidently say I did not actually say any bad words.  My absolute favorite is “mother trucker.”  They are a real thing— trucker’s mothers exist.  I started doing this because I fell in love with the game Fortnite this year (keeps me young, guys) and everyone eliminates me all the time…and I had to manage my potty mouth somehow.  In honor of my trickery, I use MotherTTrucker as my snapchat name.  Follow at your own risk.