Why 48 is so Great. 5 things to love about this age!

Being a 48 year old woman in America is such a great experience. Especially at this age, you were born in the mid 1970's and you were raised during a time when the world felt secure and balanced and right. When the 80's hit, you went into Kindergarten and were inundated with pop culture such as Michael Jackson and Madonna, as well as Malls and Arcades. It pretty much goes without saying that there were no cell phones, yet we all felt so much more connected and so much more peaceful throughout our days. There are more than 5 things to love about 48, but for the sake of time, I figured I would narrow it down to just 5.

1. You don't really care about what others think anymore. We all can remember a time, when we spent so much of our time obsessing and ruminating over that comment that Sally made, or that snide remark that your mother made at dinner about your outfit. Somewhere around 48, you start to recognize that these words that are spoken to you, really don't have anything to do with you, but instead, are about the person that spoke them to you. They have the issue, or else they wouldn't have said anything at all.

2. You recognize the importance of cherishing everyday like it was your last. By this time, we all have probably suffered a loss of someone close to us that made us recognize and cherish our own life. As we grieved our loved one's loss, we sat in mourning for varying periods of time but we also felt grateful that we still were given time on this planet to give and to serve our fellow man. This proves to be such a fulfilling feeling, far more than any material wealth we could gain.

3. You value yourself and respect yourself because you are worth it. Right around this time, you realize truly that "you are enough" and certain decisions and choices are made based on this fact. You won't allow anyone to disrespect you and you value yourself and your soul to expect the best. You no longer will tolerate bad behavior from people and will just leave the situation if it warrants it.

4. You understand the importance of diet and hydration. By the time you are 48, you realize that your body does not metabolize the junk foods like it used to. You recognize that everything you put in your mouth has a direct correlation to how you feel. You have amassed enough knowledge to know the difference between what foods to eat organic and what foods you don't need to eat organic. With this knowledge, you recognize that ultimately, your body just really craves whole foods.

5. Realizing you have a whole 2nd half of your life still in you. You can look back at the last 48 years of your life and gauge how long it felt, then you can look forward to the same amount of time in the second half of your life. In doing this assessment of your life, you start to release the trivial things in your life and you start to really live, knowing that you have the power to live in the now and experience all that life has to offer.

In short, age is just a number and once you've gotten to 48, you recognize that it's such a great place to be. You have learned so much in your life during these past 48 years and if you're lucky, you have had the opportunity to have kids and to see the world through their eyes as well. The second half of your life, need not be filled with doctor's visits and fears of new diagnosis's to come, but rather it should be filled with great experiences and long periods of joy and happiness as you become present in your everyday life and learn to appreciate all that this world has to offer.