Goals for Aging

Thank you all SO much for the nice words yesterday <3

In September of this year, Brent and I will be celebrating ten years together.

Ten years. I can't believe it's been ten years since we met!

I look back on when we met and things were so different, but yet it still doesn't seem like it was ten years ago. I was eighteen years old. I was fresh out of high school. I was full of energy and really had not a care in the world!

The past ten years have been wonderful. They've also had their hard moments. Five of these years, I've been blogging, so you all have had quite an extensive glimpse into my life.

With thirty being an age quickly approaching, I think about my past ten years and how I've aged. I don't really feel older. I do feel more tired, yes. I've grown as a person, of course, but to me, I think aging is what you make of it.

Aging is a process. No, I'm not considered old right now, but every day I am aging. I worked with the elderly for four years, so I hold the process of aging quite close to my heart.

Along with working hand in hand with those who are quite aged, being quite active in the world wide web, I've been introduced and learned so much as far as aging goes.

Unfortunately, it seems once you hit a certain point, sickness occurs. Of course, many sicknesses out there are simply not preventable. However, it seems like everyday, I come across an article that implies certain foods prevent cancer or certain foods increase your chances of cancer; Certain herbs prevent wrinkles; Certain juices give you more energy. The list goes on.

I, by no means, am knowledgeable when it comes to most things in the medical field. I will openly say that I think things in our food and things in the air poison our bodies. The rate in which certain diseases, developmental disorders and cancer are rising, I just don't see how that's not the case.
Do I think it's fair that our air and food contain such bad chemicals? Absolutely not. I hate it.

I hate that part of my time with my children is (and will be) worrying about what products I put on their skin or feed them. We shouldn't have to worry about that. However, since companies out there are creating products (for all ages) that aren't well researched or safe, I do spend my time hoping that I'm not contributing to harming my children.

I won't go any further on that, but it really just plain out isn't fair that 'they' let chemicals and toxins fly. They fly in our air, fly in our mouths and fly in our skin.

By fly, I mean that even lotions supposedly have chemicals that have been 'proven' as cancer causing agents. What does that even mean? It means that more research needs to be done before products are put on shelves, or, we should all believe that health food, natural & "green" stores, do, in fact, carry the only products we should be using.

For my aging process I have goals. Aging is inevitable, but quite a bit of it is in our control. Of course, I do believe sickness happens. God has a plan, genetics play a role and what is meant to be, will be.

However, I want to feel good. I want to look good. We all know that if you like the way you look, you tend to feel better. Right now, I feel like I'm going in the right direction. No, I don't eat all organic every day, but I've made many changes and I definitely eat much cleaner, more organic and use cleaner household and toiletry products. I am more aware of what goes into my body and in my house. It's not easy, but nothing is.

I have a goal of feeding my children no hormones and as few pesticides as possible. I have a goal of helping them know what a healthy lifestyle is. I have a goal of living to see their kids and as many greats as possible.

I want to embrace aging as there is simply no stopping it.

Pfizer's new campaign Get Old wants to help all of us face the aging process with a healthy attitude and the tools to grow older in a way that increases our quality of life and lets us enjoy our (increasingly longer!) lives.

Get Old is designed to be a community where people of all ages can share their expectations and emotions about the aging process through photos, stories, and videos. Sharing dialogue with our peers is a great way to be proactive about aging, and Pfizer will also share tips and tools for healthy aging for the body and mind.

Share a comment about how the aging process makes you feel, and you will be entered for a chance to win one of three $500 SpaFinder gift cards, courtesy of BlogHer and Pfizer! Entries will be pooled across participating blogs and three winners will be chosen.

For your convenience, here are highlights from the Official Rules for the Sweepstakes. Please note by submitting an entry you are agreeing to the full Official Rules, available here.
No duplicate comments.

Please do not mention or imply any pharmaceutical products in your posts. Posts that mention or imply a pharmaceutical product will be subject to removal.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt at the bottom of this post.*
b) Read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
*Note: if you want to comment but either (i) are not eligible or (ii) do not want to enter the giveaway, please include something similar to the following statement in your comment: ìI do not wish to enter the sweepstakes.î
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Medical professionals who are licensed (or are otherwise authorized) to prescribe medications are not eligible to enter. While BlogHer encourages you to share your thoughts and experiences about getting older, comments discussing medical conditions and/or medical products are not permitted, may be deleted, and are invalid entries. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.
This sweepstakes runs from 6/18 to 8/31.
Be sure to check out the BlogHer.com Get Old page to find out more about the Get Old platform and read how other bloggers feel about aging!