I'm not sure that I ever looked forward to aging, but I've never been afraid of it or hated the idea of it. I'm just grateful to have made it this far.
My mother never saw old age. I nearly died during my active addiction, then barely survived colon cancer.
But it's more than gratitude. I'm excited to grow older.
I'm ready to embrace my inner crone, even though I am not quite clear about when I'm allowed to call myself a crone. Importantly, aging has been the invitation that I needed to make friends with my body.
I've always thought that I had a nice face and good hair, but today I feel the privilege of growing older deep in my softening belly, in wrinkles that seem to multiply daily, in my often-aching muscles and my creaky joints and bones. Accepting my aging body allows me to be more fully me.