As I turn the calendar to June, I’m also turning the page on a milestone birthday.
This month, I will turn 50.
Fifty.
When I was a child, 50 seemed impossibly far away. It was one of those ages that belonged to grown-ups, teachers, parents, and people who had life figured out. It certainly wasn’t an age I imagined reaching myself.
Yet here it is.
Funny how life works.
While looking at the National Day Calendar for June 1st, I discovered it was packed with observances. Say Something Nice Day. Nail Polish Day. Game Show Day. Go Barefoot Day. Olive Day. Pen Pal Day, and several others.
As I read through them, I found myself smiling at the memories they stirred.
I have always liked shades of orange nail polish.
I love olives.
I watched my share of game shows growing up. Press Your Luck, Jeopardy!, Family Feud, and Wheel of Fortune were among my favorites.
Go Barefoot Day made me laugh because anyone who knows me knows I am usually wearing socks. If I have a choice, my feet are covered.
Then there was Pen Pal Day.
When I was in elementary school, our teacher assigned us pen pals. I remember being told they were “far away.”
In my young imagination, that meant another state. Maybe another country. I pictured someone living a completely different life from mine. Someone I would probably never meet.
Later, I discovered my pen pal attended the same school.
I remember feeling confused. Had I misunderstood? Had the assignment changed? Were they simply in another classroom?
We eventually talked about it, but we never became close friends.
Still, decades later, I remember the experience.
Looking back, I realize it taught me something I wouldn’t fully understand until much later in life.
Sometimes things seem much farther away than they actually are.
As children, we think adulthood is far away.
Then suddenly we’re adults.
We think opportunities are far away.
Then one conversation changes everything.
We think healing is far away.
Then one insight shifts our perspective.
We think becoming the person we’re meant to be is somewhere out in the distance, waiting at the end of a long road.
And then one day we look around and realize we’ve been becoming that person all along.
At 20, 50 felt far away.
At 30, it still felt comfortably distant.
At 40, I began noticing how quickly the years moved.
Now, standing at the threshold of 50, I don’t feel old. I don’t feel finished. I don’t feel like I’ve arrived at some final destination.
If anything, I feel curious.
Curious about what comes next.
Curious about what I still have to learn.
Curious about the people I’ll meet, the places I’ll travel, the stories I’ll hear, and the ways I will continue to grow.
The older I get, the less interested I am in racing through life and the more interested I am in participating with its flow.
I’ve learned that very little unfolds according to the timeline we imagine.
Life pivots.
Life surprises us.
Life asks us to become someone new again and again.
And perhaps that’s the gift of milestones.
They give us an opportunity to pause long enough to notice how far we’ve come.
Not to measure what we’ve accomplished.
Not to count what we haven’t done.
But to appreciate the journey itself.
So as June begins, I find myself thinking about that elementary school pen pal.
About distances that weren’t as far as they seemed.
About milestones that once felt impossibly distant.
About dreams that arrive in unexpected ways.
And about the truth that so many of the things we spend years searching for may be much closer than we realize.
Here’s to June.
Here’s to new chapters.
And here’s to discovering that sometimes what once felt far away has been quietly making its way toward us all along.
Reflection prompts:
- Think about a younger version of yourself. What did they imagine your life would look like today?
- What once felt far away that is now part of your life?
- What are you discovering is closer than you thought?
- As you step into this new month, what chapter are you ready to begin?
Theresa
Flexible Being
Empowering Your Journey to Healing, Clarity, and Self-Discovery.
Concrete solutions. Flexible guidance.
When you’re ready, reach out—I’d love to continue the conversation.
Email: theresa@flexiblebeing.com
Website: www.flexiblebeing.com
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Theresa Martinez-Shapiro
Theresa Martinez-Shapiro is the founder of Flexible Being, a Reiki Master, Certified Oracle Guide, intuitive mentor, and writer based in Stockton, California. Through Musings of a Flexible Being, she explores healing, mindfulness, relationships, intuition, and personal growth with a grounded yet spiritual approach.
