Remember the Old Times, by tomatokisses on deviantART (CC BY-ND 3.0)

Remember the Old Times, by tomatokisses on deviantART (CC BY-ND 3.0)

Getting old sucks. You just don’t jump back from things as easily. Not getting enough sleep has more of an effect. Exercising wears you out more quickly and it takes longer to rest up. Injuries take longer to heal. The youth don’t respect your opinions or your experience. Getting old really sucks.

Except it doesn’t. Getting old is actually awesome. I know I’m not “old” by a lot of people’s standards. But I’m 40, which is old enough to have felt my body aging for at least a decade.

I’m one of those people who values her mind slightly more than her body. I mean, obviously I have to value my body. If I don’t have my health, I don’t have anything, right? But I’m very good at using my mind, and most of my day to day life uses my mind vastly more than my body. And, while I’m not necessarily as quick as I used to be when I was a kid, I’m still pretty darn fast. I also know stuff. A lot of stuff. About a wide variety of topics. I also can see the big picture. I can take a collection of information, assess it, and toss out a result. I get better at this as I get older, too.

Also, it’s so much easier to not give a shit about stuff as you get older. You realize that a lot of the things you used to care about aren’t important, and you save your worrying and efforts for the things that really matter. It’s liberating. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

I’m not the only one either. You ever hear someone say, “If I could go back and do it all again, I would, but only if I knew then what I know now.” Can you imagine being 18 again with an adult’s set of knowledge?

It’s probably best that as our bodies decline, our minds are enriched. It would suck to have all of life’s advantages at once, leaving the disadvantages for the end of life.

So, don’t worry about getting older. Revel in your awesomeness.