Today is the oldest I have ever been. Does that make me old? To my kids kind of, to my granddaughter absolutely, to my dad absolutely not. But what about me? How do I feel? In all honesty, not so bad. I am enjoying my 50s and I have been lucky to work in an industry that stresses the importance of making healthy choices. Not a day goes by that I don’t see an article or get info on the latest tips for looking and feeling our best. Healthy aging has almost become an obsession in our day.

But today I am one day older, and if I can continue to wake up each day and be mindful of the small things I need to do, like eat healthy, get physical activity, brush my teeth, take care of my skin and hygiene, minimize my stress, keep myself social and at the end of the day get enough rest (I could go on and on), then maybe this aging thing won’t be so bad. I know it is going to get harder – I have had a front row seat to viewing that as caretaker for my parent – but I hope to continue to embrace it while doing what I can to keep myself as active and happy as I can.

So on the flip side I am the youngest I’ll ever be again, so I better enjoy it. I wish I could go back to my 20-year-old self and tell her to stand tall and confident. To not stress about wearing a swimsuit because she had almost invisible cellulite and to appreciate that this is probably as good as it will ever be! Or my thirty-year-old self and tell her to snuggle up with those babies and ignore the changes that pregnancy made and the circles that sleepless nights gave. There are blessings and joys to this age that slip by so fast. Or my 40s me and tell her to not fret that she can’t run a marathon by 40 like she had on her bucket list, that there would come a day when she would be thankful that she enjoyed running and could do it at all.

So, what will the future me look back and want to tell me today?

Maybe we should all stop and ask ourselves that question. Will she or he be happy with how we are caring for ourselves mentally and physically? Thank us for giving it the best shot possible to feel our best? What will she chastise us for not appreciating? I most certainly don’t know the answers, but I am going to continue to try and find them and surround myself with positive mentors and role models to push me along. So this September, look at your habits and lifestyle and vow to do your best to age as healthy as you can. We would be honored to play any small part in that we can.