I remember my 30th birthday all too well. While most of my friends were in mourning and denial, I was hopelessly optimistic about this new decade I was entering into.
No sooner had I said my thank yous to aunts, cousins, friends and colleagues for their cards, flowers and calls, I started receiving letters for diagnostic tests for afflictions I had only read about and dismissed as old age problems. Holding onto my plate of creamy birthday cake in one hand, I used the other to ask the only non-judgemental online doctor I know,(google, who else?!) to explain. I mean surely one is allowed to have atleast a year before they get thrown into the world of life-threatening diseases. Apparently not. 30 is not just a number you forget and sleep over. After reading through graphic, explicit and downright scary articles, I swallowed my rising panic with great difficulty. Saying a silent prayer, I called up a wise, half-a-decade older than me friend to discuss this new problem. She laughed like a hyena as she tutored me about tests, symptoms and what I could expect in the decade ahead. Discussing bowel movements as I eat black forest cake isn't a pleasant experience and I remember tossing out a rather big uneaten chunk after that conversation.
Feels like yesterday that I heard that but it isn't. It's almost a decade since that happened and now as I stand on the ledge staring down at yet another decade ahead of me, I feel strangely melancholic. The last decade has had its fair share of ups and downs but I am here and still standing. Not as robust but strong enough to stand against a little bit of wind. I do have three grey hair to take forward to the next decade and a skin that's weathered but it's thicker and it keeps me sane now. I am less impulsive and more pragmatic. Less analytical and more philosophical. Less arrogant and more forgiving.
I have picked up hobbies I discounted as boring or for the old. I have given up foods I never really cared for and started eating stuff I never really imagined eating. I sleep more and I have problems that only people my age can associate with. I have begun to step away from people who I assumed were friends and towards people I never imagined would be my friends. I have realized life is too short to explain to people who will never want to understand you or your life so it's best to let them assume what they want. In short, I have started embracing what appeals to me without really bothering about what might please someone else. Yes, my body has looked better and performed better but it's more trustworthy now. It recognizes its weaknesses and tells me when I need to slow down or take care of myself. It is my ally and the only one who can guide me through the uncharted waters of the decade ahead. Am I looking forward to it? Yes, bring it on!
