Grateful Thursday, one year older

I'm now officially 28. Not too sure how I feel about that. I know anyone out there reading this who's older than me is thinking "what a young'n to be worrying about her age." But I find myself having passed another year entirely too quickly, with 30 sneaking up on me, remembering what it was like to be 18 and thinking about how old 28 is, and now I'm here, in the blink of an eye. Which only leads me to thinking I'll be 38 and then 48, etc., before I know it too. But I can't stop it, so I might as well embrace the things that are good about getting older and that make it easier. Hence my grateful list for the day.

1) Friends-- good, true friends, who know who I am and love me for it. When I was younger and unsure of myself, always second guessing my personality, it was hard to make and keep true friends, the kind that stick with you over the years. But yesterday getting calls and emails from friends far away, and then looking around the dinner table last night, I felt a sense of warmth that these people love me and wanted to celebrate with me-- not because they felt some requirement or because their moms drove them there and pushed them through the door or because there would be booze served, but because they wanted to. And I love each of them just as much and am grateful for having all of them in my life.

2) My husband, who makes getting older fun. We joke about how we're already an old married couple and talk to each other like we're 75. Driving around town yesterday, he was taking me to get my haircut, and I pointed in the direction of his next turn to remind him-- something I just do subconsciously because he misses turns sometimes. He looked at me and said "Woman, I've lived here 32 years, I know where I'm going." And we both laughed because he sounded like a little old man with a cane talking to his gray-haired wife. He took me to lunch, got me a cake, two presents, and then organized a dinner for me last night that was so special. He takes such good care of me and I wouldn't trade him for anything, not even eternal youth.

3) My job. Even though it's stressful some days (as I was leaving the house this morning, the last thing I told my husband was that it is a "kicking ass and taking names day" because of something that got messed up yesterday), I'm grateful for my awesome coworkers, who got me cupcakes, for my boss, who sent me the sweetest email last night, and for having a job that I don't dread coming to every day where I'm sincerely respected, appreciated, and liked.

4) Finding wisdom and courage as I age. I touched on this earlier, but this alone is enough to make me grateful for getting older. With every day that passes, I feel like I become more of myself, more sure of who I am, and more able to trust my instincts and inner voice. This gives me more confidence to stand up for myself and what I believe in, but it also allows me to find grace when I have been wrong about something and the knowledge to realize when it's time to back down or step aside.

5) Life. Just life in general. I got teary on the way home from dinner last night thinking about all the ways in which I'm blessed, from my house, to my dog, to my parents, my husband, my friends, my coworkers, my intelligence... even making it to 28 and actually truly liking who I am is something for which to be grateful. No matter what goes wrong, the core of who I am and what I want my life to be can't be shaken, because I know life isn't about living through a series of events and surviving, but about making sure my reactions to these events lead me to the outcome that I want, and that I always remain positive in the face of negativity, worry, and despair. Every day I live and breathe in this life is a blessing to me, and all I can hope for is that everyone else finds the inner peace that this realization brings.