I'm youthful, darnit.

This morning I glanced at a Redbook in the bathroom and found one of the cover articles read: "If you're over 26, read this: new beauty breakthroughs to keep you young." Now, I appreciate they carefully said, "keep you young," implying I still have youth, but is 26 some sort of cut-off? I am 28, am I nearing the age where I can no longer preserve my youth? LOL. Made me chuckle. Age isn't something I worry about yet. Ever. I feel young. Half the time I can't remember how old I am. I wrote "27" first, and went back & thought, "it's 2007, that makes me..." and I returned to change it to 28, b/c I really did not know my age. The women in my family age gracefully. I'm just not concerned with it. But this lead to an article made me think, for a second, that age preservation is something women my age ARE concerned with. Hmm...

Then I checked my e-mail, and I decided to read this forward. Aging was on my mind, and "George Carlin's View on Aging" was in my inbox. I liked it. I rarely care for any forward I receive. This one seemed worth sharing b/c I felt like I'd have a good day after reading this:

HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them!'
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only persons, who are with us our entire lives, are ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Me speaking again: it's not that I think these ideas are fresh and super-life altering, but I do find them to serve as a good reminder. I especially like the idea of ditching guilt. Sometimes guilt gets the best of me. I feel bad I didn't play enough with the kids, didn't make a better meal, didn't clean enough, or I spent too much time scrapbooking or gardening. I should not feel guilty about any of these things, b/c I have a pretty balanced dispersement of hobbies, wifing, mothering, and resting.
Loving the idea of ditching the numbers, too. I am still trying really hard to lose weight. I lost 6 lbs in 2 weeks, and then have not lost anymore in the last 3 weeks or so. I'm not beating myself up. I am being realistic, and taking my time. Making better choices. I feel better when I eat well, and walk often. What more motivation do I need? I think I'll skip the scale for awhile, and see what happens. Sometimes 6 lbs lost is permission to eat brownies: I have f-ed up logic, eh?
Just food for thought. Beats the of kind of food with useless calories.