Age

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Last Friday was my birthday. It’s a milestone birthday. There are two things I will never share with anyone: my age and weight. I used to say I was 16 until my kids started growing older and that wouldn’t work anymore. My oldest is 14, he will turn 15 in November inshallah! When my kids ask me how old I am, I tell them I’m one hundred years old, haha! They know I’m not of course, but I don’t think it’s necessary for them to know. I honestly think unless you’re my doctor, you don’t need to know my age.

I confess that two years ago, when I realized that I’d reach this milestone in two years, it caught me off guard, I’m so used to not saying my age that I honestly forget how old I am. I was shocked! Am I going to be that old in two years! Yes, I was!

 It got me thinking, what have I done in my life. Am I where I want to be? What have I accomplished? Then I slowly realized, I wasn’t that old. I wasn’t old at all. I still could accomplish whatever I wanted. Honestly, age is just a number. When you’re an adult, it’s not about your age. It’s about your mindset, your maturity, your drive to be successful. There isn’t a specific age that decides whether you will be successful in life.

There are so many stories of people who became successful, famous, received noble peace prizes after the age of 40!

“Laura Ingalls Wilder spent her later years writing semi-autobiographical stories using her educated daughter, Rose, as an editor. She published the first in the “Little House” books at age 65 in 1932. They soon became children's literary classics and the basis for the TV show “Little House on the Prairie.””

So, there is still hope that achieve my childhood dream and become a famous writer! Why not?

The prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) became a prophet at the age of 40! I think it says a lot when God chooses this age.

I started this blog on the 1st of October, my birthday month. Here I am starting something new and I’m that old!

I’m slowly realizing that I should be proud, I have 5 beautiful, smart, kind, bilingual kids. My husband is successful at his job and part of his success is my love and support. I do as much as I can so he can focus on his career. I am so proud of him. I am proud to be his wife. I am proud to be the mother of my children. I know I’ve doubted myself as a mother, but we really shouldn’t. We are doing our best. We also need to remember that our partners success is our success too. Why do we take ourselves for granted? I’m slowly learning not to.

So, as I reflect on my age, and what I’ve accomplished. I can say that yes, I am happy with where I am. It’s ok that I’m not making a living as an interior designer. That doesn’t mean it’s too late to start one day, if I want to. If I want to do something else, that’s fine. Why do we make these rules for ourselves? Life is never going to be perfect. It wasn’t meant to be. The important thing is to be content with what we have. Always count our blessings and find gratitude and joy in the little things. Everyone is going through something. We need to  smile more, dream a lot and never give up on ourselves.