I wish I never listened to people always saying the most negative things about aging.

How everyone wished they were younger.

How terrible it is to turn 40, 50, 60, 70, 80.

And maybe I still have to get to the number 50, but when I got to 40 I didn’t expect that having to work harder at my self, my body, my health and my emotional well-being would be a blessing in disguise.

Maybe my resilience came from having tragic experiences early on in life. Maybe I am skilled in riding the waves.

But honestly…I really wished people would keep their negative approach to being older to themselves.

I have loved aging.

Even though it comes with health problems.

For example my hair started to fall out….so instead of crying about it….I decided to chop it off and have a cut I’ve always wanted.

I was also diagnosed with severe life threatening sleep apnea and went on an unbelievable journey to hopefully find my way back to oxygen.

I have many other challenges, that all come from living on this earth longer. The longer we live the more times our heart will break.

The longer we live the more times we visit the hospital.

The more people we will lose.

The more times we will cry.

But you see….

I am a lemonade maker and so are you.

An ageless beauty.

A challenge master.

A resilient human.

A happy soul.

A driver.

Give me age.

Give me disease.

Give me a broken heart.

Give me grief.

Give me death.

And I will find my way around them.

I will find my way to a new landing.

A new learning.

A new way of living.

I am a lemonade maker and so are you.

And the older you get the better the lemonade gets.

Real lemonade making is about finding your way around the juice. I spend time looking at new clothes that will go with my new short hair cut.

I spend time finding the right meditation technique that will help me repair my nervous system so I don’t have panic attacks. I spend time blending my lemonade.

If I am lucky to live a long life the challenges will get harder, the skill of the lemonade maker will have to be refined.

The risk will be bigger.

The more years, the more blessings, the more beauty, the more sunrises, the more lemonade, the more cute haircuts, the more real friends, real conversations, the more life in the moment.

Every problem you have today may not have a solution, but it will have an avenue that will lead you to something you would not have experienced otherwise.

I hope you see yourself as a lemonade maker, a bull rider, a ship captain….a wave rider. (Click to Tweet!)

And I hope you get to be really old with a cute hair cut one day, holding a glass of lemonade in your hand.

With many lemons,

Christina

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Christina

Christina

Christina Rasmussen is an author, speaker and social entrepreneur who believes that grief is an evolutionary experience required for launching a life of adventure and creative accomplishment.

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7 Comments

  • Judith Finneren says:

    I am a lemonade maker and forever will be! So many gifts at every age! I look forward to the miracles, gifts and surprises in each day!

  • Sharon says:

    Hi Christina, I have heard many old people say the Golden years of old age are not Golden. I believe that at any age you make your life what it is. It is so sad to see old people sit and wait to die when they have choices. I developed wonderful coping skills as a young child due to circumstances in our family and all through my life- I am now 64- those skills have served me well. When I am real old, I will not only have a cute haircut, ( I used to be a hairdresser so I cut my own hair) a glass of lemonade, but also wear a red dress and purple hat!!! I have learned so much through the challenges of my life. I told my 14 year old grandson whom I gave birth to the age of 49 , that at age 90, I will still be walking around my acreage and gardening. He said that I will need help with the garden then! I am planning to live that long, the good Lord willing.
    You take care of yourself with the sleep apnea, my late husband had it for years and wore a CPAP at night. I have an autoimmune disease and have learned how to live life happily in spite of it. I love that at this age if I want to take a nap, I can and do!!!
    Blessings to you and yours!
    Sharon

  • Maureen O. Weigand says:

    This is my birthday month. I’ve turned 73. I’m lucky because I’m healthy and have used my birthday month to give myself a gift: I’ve retired. Spent thirty years as a social services administrator, the last four of which have been working with families in crisis.

    Ten years ago my husband died. Worse, two years ago my best friend in life died suddenly leaving me feeling desperately alone. In those two years I’ve learned that it’s possible to survive without her only by realizing that she’s with me every day and that the older we get the more we learn — every day.

    Yes, lemonade! A new/different life. Not without her but with her, helping me to find new ways to solve new problems. She’s smart, a problem solver, a lemonade maker, and so am I. Thank you, Janet. You will be with me forever!

  • Patricia says:

    You are truly an inspiration, Christina, because you Speak/Write to Truth; you’re own. You don’t hit people over the head with it or tell people what to do. You just share Truth, YOU, and that is a priceless gift!

    I have your book and when I need it, I get it and read it just for that moment. What you’ve shared in your book is perfect for everyone moment in life when a person needs to read something they can personally and directly and honestly relate to.

    Your daughters are so blessed to have a role model and mom like you, so they can see what they will potentially grow into one day!

    Your husband weeps with absolute Joy Everyday at the Woman, Mother and Model of Hope you have become for so many!

    Thank You!!!

  • Jo Ann Bateman says:

    I love this !! It is so uplifting and encouraging to me!!

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