One of the best things about getting older is the absolute loveliness of connecting with friends. It becomes more meaningful than it used to be, somehow. Spending an evening laughing with friends or occasionally touching base with old friends- it is a big deal.

Sure, there is a certain amount of bittersweet in there, but I now get what a big deal it is to have people that you love who love you back, just for who you are. What a treat to have the time to pay attention and be present in ways I didn’t have when I was younger. I was too busy, too pre-occupied with all of my “stuff”; I still loved and cared for all of these people, but not in the thoughtful way that I do now.

Now, I know to take these times as little treasures and put them in my heart-locker for safe keeping. We are communal beings, and we need others to thrive. I have learned to categorize my friends (and family) into the places they belong, without expectation of them being anything other than who they are. Sure, I still get disappointed from time to time but mostly I’ve learned to accept people for who they are, or if I find that I don’t like that core-being, cut them from my life.

Speaking of which, I’m much pickier about what invitations I accept and things that I do. I now (mostly) only do things that I actually WANT to do, rather than feeling guilted into things that I don’t enjoy. It is very liberating, surprisingly. Though sometimes I feel conflicted until an hour into the event I’m missing- once a pleaser, always a pleaser in some sense I suppose.

There really is a wisdom that comes with age, SURPRISE! It is a knowing of oneself, an acceptance of things as they are, and a delight at the vibrance of youth…..and so much more. I’m not fighting like I used to fight- I just don’t care. There are things absolutely worth fighting for, and I’m like a dog on a bone with those, but they are increasingly rare.

I wish that getting older didn’t come with the bodily breakdowns that it does, but so be it. I’m still the same girl in my mind. For now the physical things are manageable but one day I’ll succumb. That day is not soon. I kind of think that now is my reward for all of that hard work.