Gilded Living

Today is my 43rd birthday. I was born 43 years ago. I am 43 years old. There's no way to sugar coat it, I am middle aged. (YIKES!) But yet I don't feel that way.  Sure, my knees are achy and stiff and take a moment to loosen when I stand up after sitting cross-legged for a while.  Yes, I have an elbow injury I'm resigned will never fully healing.  Of course I have some gray hairs, an arsenal of face serums, and use readers with increasing frequency.  But I don't feel middle aged. And I certainly don't feel like I'm declining.  I have friends and family that tell me they're tired just looking through my Instagram and Facebook feeds. Occasionally, people at my gym are surprised to learn my age. And I have a friend who tells me that every time she hears my name or I come to mind the first thing she thinks of is  carpe diem .  (I have been associated with much worse...) Why do I stay so busy? Well, a lot of it is necessity. I have thre...

My husband and I have made an active decision to say no to over-scheduled, hectic family life.  Our kids are each in one major activity and a couple of other classes offered to homeschoolers during weekdays. We guard our family and free time. We are not our best selves rushing every night and weekend, passing each other by, living our lives apart. Because we swim upstream in society, I’m often asked what my kids do with their abundance of free time. Well, some days they build forts out of logs and branches we have in our yard. Some days they make bird feeders. Some days they play video games. Some days they put a band together, have one performance, and then break up. Some days they make movie trailers or stop-motion videos. Some days they teach themselves magic tricks and put on a show. And some days, like today, they create floral faces. One of my daughters asked if she could walk and collect natural pieces for an art project last week. She came home and put this little l...