49 and Still a Dime

It feels weird to be leaving town not even a week after we funeralized my FIL. My husband assured me that he was fine, and I should move ahead with my birthday plans. I’m heading to Tampa to spend six days with my big sister. Lawd help me!!! I’m praying I can keep up with her because she can hang like she’s in her 20s. I’m just not built like that.

Outside of the timing, I am pretty excited that I’m doing something different for my birthday. Normally I spend the month of October being treated to lunch and dinner by friends and family. It’s been a long time since my birthday celebration included going away. I actually decided on a whim while I was on the phone with my sister back in August. She almost didn’t believe me when I said I was coming! I’m hoping this trip will be the start of me living into my guilt-free more adventurous side.

Over these last two years, I have embraced taking personal responsibility for my own happiness. That means no longer looking for someone outside of myself to make me happy. That also means that I relinquished the responsibility of making anyone else happy. I’ve been waiting for permission to take a break, go somewhere, have new experiences. Once I made the decision to let all that go, opportunities to do new things began to show up.

I’m thankful to be 49 (and still a dime piece on my off day). I’m grateful to be in good health, to look good, and to feel good. But more than anything I’m thankful to finally have grown into a woman that is ready to live into the version of myself I have always wanted to be. That means I assume agency as it relates to my life experiences and my own fulfillment. That’s a huge responsibility and you can’t lay the blame at anyone else’s feet. Yet it’s an empowering way to live.

Write your life and live it!