Age is all imagination. Ignore years and they’ll ignore you. – Ella Wheeler Wilcox

I’m one of those people who doesn’t remember how old she is.  Because 1. it’s irrelevant and 2. I honestly feel like I’m 25 (I’m not).  I believe this is the main reason others often assume I am much younger than my birth certificate would state, and I recently came across a greeting card that perfectly expressed this phenomena which read: “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?”

I like to think of myself as ageless and timeless, but my brain will do a double take every now and then when I find out the numbers of people around me (whose age when you originally met them you think they somehow still are, even though 14 years have passed) or when I hear that famous folks the likes of Beyonce, Britney, Paris and Justin are all turning 30 this year, and about Sting, who just turned 60?! But then again, 60 is the new 40…

And then there’s my Mom, who will be celebrating her 66th revolution around the sun next Monday, but who has been experiencing the adolescence and early adulthood she never had, which began a few years after becoming single again at the age of 51 when my father passed away.   She is out at her clubs most Friday, Saturday AND Sunday nights, dancing and flirting into the wee hours of the morning.  She does online dating (several sites), has oodles of admirers (many younger than her) and a gang of giggly girlfriends (mostly around her age) to have fun with and gossip about it all. Really, I’m not exaggerating. My friends are in awe… 

I was recently invited to two fancy shindigs honoring and almost exclusively attended by men and women in their “third acts.” It made me reflect on how I’ve lived my life so far and reminded me that vitality at any age is always about how you take care of and feel about yourself, and re-enforced my trademark admonishment to make the most of the time and energy you have while you have it.

Abraham Lincoln once said “And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”  So I say who cares about the number?!  Just embrace wherever you’re at and let your enthusiasm for living make you glow.  Not feeling like you’re getting the best bang for your mind, body and spirit’s buck?  Give me a buzz and I’ll help you make the most of the years you’ve got, no matter how many you’ve already left behind!