The older I get...

In little more than a week's time, I'll turn 29 years old. That number doesn't carry the same weight as thirty, but it's poignant in its own right because it's will be the last year I (or any of us for that matter) have in my twenties.

To say that this decade (or at least the eight years and eleven months I've experienced of it so far) has been an incredibly formative, meaningful, tumultuous, exciting, fascinating, and generally busy time in my life would be an understatement.

That, however, is what one's twenties are for, at least in this present day and age. We learn, we grow, we fail, we succeed, we win, we loose, and if we're lucky, we come out wiser, more grounded, and better ready to face the next decade than we were when we stumbled precariously from our teen years in adulthood.

As the grains in the hourglass of life continue to trickle through, I sometimes find myself reflecting on things that have changed, expanded or come to be as I've gotten older. I'm sure that as more years get added to my age throughout time, so too will others be added to this list, and quite frankly that point makes me happy.

I love sincerely love the fact that one's outlook on things changes and/or develops as we age. There were perks to being, say, 16 for sure, but (aside from the good health I had back then), I wouldn't go back and trade being 16 with being nearly 29 for a million dollars. Short of the fact that every year behind you means one less in front, there's exceedingly little I dislike about aging and a great deal that I love.

On this, the first Friday of spring, I thought it would be fun to share a some things with you that have happened to me, or which I approach differently, as I continue to age. The older I get...

The braver I become.

The less I care what other people think about me.

The more I shake things off.

The less I little the little things unnerve and rattle me.

The more fun I have with my fashion choices.

The fewer regrets I find myself counting at the end of the year.

The greater my ability to forgive others becomes.

The more I find myself opening up and desiring to let others "in".

The happier and more content with life I find myself.

The easier it is to accept myself exactly as I am (but by the same token, the easier it also is to steadfastly work at changing those things I want to improve).

The less tears I shed over people who are not worth them in the first place.

The less I let my limitations define me.

The more I cannot wait to meet the person I'll be in five, ten, twenty, forty, etc years!

{Whether babe, gran, or somewhere in between, never stop trying to better yourself, help others, and make the best of what you've been blessed to have. Image source.}

This is by no means a complete list, but I'd say they're the the points that I've most found myself reflecting on during the first few months of 2013. Getting older isn't always a walk in a park, but neither is (was) youth. I enjoy the comfort that comes from having an ever increasing amount of life experiences and a wealth of memories to draw on as I face each new day.

Most of us change and grow with age, our perspectives shifting and broadening as hard lessons are learned and new joys are experienced. This is the way things are supposed to be. It would be challenging and nothing short of a shame if age didn't afford us a certain wisdom and the ability to be better equipped at dealing with whatever the the universe throws our way each day. I'll happily trade a few budding wrinkles and (come July 2014) wave goodbye to another decade of life for such invaluable gifts any day of the year.