Birthdays are such an interesting event. The date is always special to us-we all think of that “date” and always remember it. It is ours! Some people like to celebrate the whole week but we all at least acknowledge the day.

I need to give thanks to the Universe for blessing me with yet another year on this beautiful planet. I am thankful for my life and everything the Universe has been teaching me these last few years. I feel like I am my own emotional science project. Being the observer instead of the reactor is so much more interesting for me. That doesn’t mean I don’t get triggered but they are so much less often and so much less reactive. My initial reaction is the same but I quickly recover as I do my work to uncover the shadow belief or wound.

This birthday has really had me in a tizzy because I am turning 60! I honestly don’t know how this happened. Yesterday I was in my forties and running marathons and dancing on tables. (Yes, I have been known to dance on tables). 60 is such a substantial number. I can’t even pretend that I am still middle age. I think I just hit the beginning of old age. I look in the mirror and 60 is not looking back at me but I know it is true. But there is no alternative that beats growing older so I am here to embrace my birthday and my age. The nice thing about having so many friends for so many years is that most of us are, or are about to turn 60. It is comforting to not be alone in this.

I am still hiking the bowl and skiing down the double blacks so on the one hand I feel young. But I have also learned to balance my life and I am no longer trying to use my body as my measure of success. I have learned to balance working in with working out. Well, balance may be an exaggeration but I am definitely not the girl of yesteryear. My idea of growing old gracefully is going kicking and screaming and still growing younger each and every day. But I am also so much more interested in becoming the woman the Universe is calling for me to be. I am so much more interested in learning and growing from the inside out. My coaching is my calling and the growth in me, and those I work with is inspiring.

My dad is coming in a few weeks to ski down Aspen mountain with me . He is turning 92 two weeks later. My mom still plays duplicate bridge every day and has a computer, iphone, kindle and ipad. I have good genes and I plan on following in their footsteps. What I do know is that I am now actually old enough to be the grandmother I am and that is a privilege that feeds my soul like no other.

So I am thankful to be on this earth, surrounded by my beautiful loved ones and all my amazing friends. I am thankful for the woman I am becoming, for the woman I have been and am so excited to see the woman I will be when I write about turning seventy.

Happy Birthday, Dear Nancy, Happy Birthday to You.