57 WORDS

I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother 

to endow it with the most useful gift, 

that gift should be curiosity.
~Eleanor Roosevelt

57 years ago today my spirit decided to come to this world and check things out, and I continue to check things out every day. I plan to check things out every day until the day I die.  Curiosity is my middle name.    Actually Ann is my middle name, but still. Wonder, ask questions, learn, explore, try, fail, try again, fail again, and try yet again.  Thanks to the inspiration of the fabulous Ms. Moss, I decided to make a list of 57 Things I want to do during my 57th. year.  Unfortunately, the nine items I came up with read more like a to-do list than the original intent of casual abandon.  Thoroughly clean kitchen cabinet fronts. Vacuum car.  Brush cats.  How sad is that? Maybe my carefree focus isn't quite aligned right now.  I've been focusing on very basic goals for awhile now, sometimes just getting through the day type goals.  The past few years have put long term goals somewhere on a back burner, reducing them to hoping for a better tomorrow goals. Maybe I'll make that list next year, but this year I'm focusing on 57 WORDS.  Words I call to mind like a mantra of sorts when I need them most. Words that resonate.  Words that live in my soul and speak my truth.  

57 WORDS (in no particular order)

 1- courage - my word for 2012

 2- hope

 3- resilience

 4- curiosity

 5- release

 6- laugh

 7- remember

 8- heal

 9- survivor

10- blessings

11- truth

12- strength

13- weakness

14- question

15- encourage

16- friends

17- capable

18- communicate

19- breathe

20- exhale

21- god

22- integrity

23- seek

24- prayer

25- purpose

26- relax

27- forgive

28- justice

29- growth

30- quiet

31- believe

32- peace

33- determination

34- love

35- family

36- joy

37- imagine

38- miracle

39- listen

40- wonder

41- wander

42- create

43- enjoy

44- learn

45- compassion

46- share

47- try

48- enough

49- patience

50- explore

51- faith

52- honesty

53- dream

54- trust

55- cry

56- inspire

57- be

So, I'm 57.  What the heck does that even mean?  Age is like time...it's real but it doesn't really make sense.  Lots of people hate their birthdays, hate getting older, but what's the alternative?  I say celebrate or die!  My mother died at 57.  My father also died young, at age 48.  As the oldest in my family, I've been the one to face the "death ages" first.  I remember turning 49 and being very aware of passing that milestone. Kind of a badge of courage to live longer than my dad.  It's not a worry or even a conscious thought; it's more like an occasional oh yeah that drifts through your mind.  It may seem like a weird reality but it's my reality.  So as I joyously begin this new adventure called 57, I remember what came before and hope that the mysteries yet to unfold are kind.  I've learned that one day at a time is the best way to live because it's all we really get.  Plan for the future but live your life today.  Ah, the wisdom of age. 
What word are you living today?  

Still curious after all these years.