Karla’s Korner: The Game of Life

I am proud to introduce a new column to Madame Deals! I think we all need a touch point a place we can go to be inspired. Karla is my children’s teacher, a good friend, and a person with a heart of gold. I hope that her words will inspire you to do more. We are only as good as the people we surround ourselves with. It is important to listen with your heart and proceed with your eyes open. Enjoy!

The Game of Life…

Recently I posted the following status on my Facebook page: “In the past 10 months I have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis, got glasses with bi-focals and today had braces put back on my teeth! With my birthday around the corner I’m thinking I should ask for duct tape because I feel like I am literally falling apart!” What a year I am having. In all reality it could be worse so I am not really complaining as much as I am beginning to face the fact that age is creeping up on me whether I like it or not. At this particular moment, I am not a big fan of the whole aging process. I long for the times when I would sleep through the night without getting up to go to the bathroom, stand up without pain in my leg, see without the aid of my spiffy new specs, not worry about my gray roots showing up in my hair, and eat a burrito without chasing it with an acid reducer.

As my 45th birthday approaches I find myself with a bit of anxiety; something I have never really felt before on other birthdays. Why is it that this particular birthday appears to be so monumental? I’m not sure, but whatever it is, I cannot fight it and am working toward embracing the middle of my forties with as much grace as I can.

This past weekend I attended a seminar at the University of Virginia about how the decade of our twenties is a time to prepare ourselves for the rest of our lives. Not letting this ten year period slip away without anything to show for it is crucial. Creating our own identities within our jobs and starting our grown up lives is key to entering into the decades that follow. As I sat listening to the presenter I thought about my own daughter who in just a few short months will be 20. I gasped (to myself as not to interrupt the lecture) as I realized that she is in the last year of her teen years. Yikes! Furthering my thoughts I think that in less than four years I will have one child finishing undergraduate work headed to her next phase of education while the youngest, the baby, will be off to whatever college he chooses. Holy moly I am almost 45 years old!

Thinking back over the past 45 years (or what I can remember of it) I find myself thankful that I am no longer the person I used to be. The young indecisive girl whose head was in the clouds wishing upon a star for the perfect relationship, house, family and friends has been replaced by a more level headed, grounded middle aged woman who knows that there is no such thing as perfect and wouldn’t want it to be if there was. If everything was perfect then there would be nothing to work toward. If we have everything we ever wanted what would we strive for? If all of our friendships were perfect then what would we need to meet new people for? Life is about learning all sorts of lessons and how we deal with the lessons we learned. I do not have all of the answers, and I am sure I never will. What I do know that as anxiety ridden as I am to be hitting what I consider a pretty monumental number on the birthday calendar this year, I am glad to be where I am.

Celebrate who you are at this very moment. Live each day finding peace and joy in even the most trivial of events. Use the good china, eat dinner in the living room, sit on the good furniture, play in the leaves, knock back a glass of wine or whatever beverage you choose just because you can and for goodness sake live a little. After all, the game of life is all about living, not sitting on the sidelines while others live it for you.

Peace,

Karla

Check out all of Karla’s Korner articles here.

Also, please visit Karla’s Lifetime Moms page and read her articles.