Of knees and scars and my thirties

Mostly, I love being my age. Being a teenager and then a young woman in my twenties was swell and all, but I can look back and be thankful for what I've learned without wishing I could re-live those years.

My thirties are a great time because I truly feel that I am coming into my own, and growing more confident in my own skin every day. I am much more confident of the things that I don't want out of life.

Having said that, I'm writing this post because there are the physical aspects about thirty that are amusing and sad, all at once. There aren't many: most days, I  remind myself to start the day gratefully, cataloging the small wonders like I spoon the melted bit of ice cream at the bottom of the cup.

It's a running list. I'm sure I'll continue to make new discoveries. But you know what? They're my discoveries, unique and simple and funny. The human body and the human mind are never the same from one day to the next;  life is change and we daily shift and re-shape, whether we will or not.

#1 Jumping off roofs and climbing up cliff walls. Remember when you were a kid and you got a scratch or a bump? A few minutes later, you forgot your pain. And a few days later, there was very little trace of a scar. That doesn't happen anymore. These days, my body works on one scar at a time. Things hurt longer. Bruises don't lighten as quickly. My legs are running out of room for bruises. My propensity for bumping into other material objects hasn't diminished, but my body's capacity for picking up the pieces afterwards has.

Mostly, it's funny. Getting physically older is truly the best teacher of acceptance. I know that my body's regenerative capacity is only slowing down a bit. Yet I am mindful, all of a sudden, about my body's physical limitations.