50

Source: weheartit.com via Jamie on Pinterest

I recently reread the book Tuesdays with Morrie, where a young man sits with his dying professor and learns the lessons of life. The first time I read this book, I related to the young man who was the student. Now, thirteen years later, I connect with the wisdom of the old Morrie.

In the book, one lesson in particular really jumped out at me. Morrie, struggling with ALS and losing all the basic functions of his body, was asked,  “Do you ever feel envious of people who are younger and healthier than you?”

His response is a lesson in the glory of age. He says:

"The truth is, part of me is every age. I'm a three-year-old, I'm a five-year -old. I'm a thirty-seven-year-old, I'm a fifty-year old. I've been through all of them, and I know what it's like. I delight in being a child when it's appropriate to be a child. I delight in being a wise old man when it's appropriate. Think of all I can be! I am every age, up to my own...How can I be envious of where you are when I've been there myself?"

I celebrate this message. It means that whenever I want to, I can touch all the ages I’ve been.  I can be a six-year-old playing dress-up with my twin sister. I can be a twenty-year-old dancing in the coolest dress with the biggest shoulder pads. I can be a 30-year-old business person travelling all around the country. A 40-year-old giving birth. I can be all the ages I've ever been.

And today, I am proud - and a bit astounded -  to be a wise 50-year old woman.