Aging as a Woman: Some Sh*t You Learn the Hard Way
Aging is weird. It sneaks up on you. One day you’re cruising, the next day you’ve got scars, wrinkles, stories, and the kind of lessons they don’t write in books. And here’s the blunt truth: when the shit hits the fan 💥, you find out real quick who’s really there for you.
I can name mine on one hand. Exactly five. 🖐️
Brett Rogers. Solid. Always steady. The kind of friend you can lean on without question.
Shanon Anderson. She dropped everything when Roo had a seizure 🐾💔. Scooped us both up, drove me to the hospital, and sat there the whole time. That’s love in action.
Angee Atkinson. She was there when my life was falling apart. No judgment. No advice. Just sat with me in silence for hours when that’s all I could handle. Sometimes presence is everything. 🙏
Penny. My Tri-Cities ride-or-die 💛. She’s checked my hair for ticks (that’s friendship, folks), painted countless shitty pictures with me 🎨😂, makes me laugh until my stomach hurts, and accepts me 100% exactly as I am. Her family? Pure gold.
Bruce (and Lynn). Bruce can make me laugh no matter what storm I’m in, and he’s always had my back. I’d go to the end of the earth for Bruce and Lynn. They’re the definition of loyalty.
And that’s it. Five. Everyone else? Acquaintances. Some bonds are closer, some looser. And some people? Let’s be honest—they were only around because it got them somewhere. 🚪 The access, the connections, the perks. Once that disappeared, so did they. That’s not friendship—that’s a transaction.
When we were stalked for two years—our home destroyed, a lunatic showing up again and again (the third time with a bat 🦇, telling his mom earlier that he was “gonna get himself a cop”)—no one cared. Not one knock on the door, not one “are you okay?” And when I left the department over the mandate that nearly broke us financially? Crickets. 🦗 Except OPA, who wanted info. Yeah… no thanks.
Here’s the savage truth aging hands you:
Your real friends list? Short as hell. And that’s a gift. ✔️
Most people don’t actually give a shit. And some only show up when there’s something in it for them. 💸
Life doesn’t wait. People die. Doors close. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. ⏳
But aging also gives you clarity:
Deep gratitude for the ones who do show up. 🙌
Wisdom to stop wasting energy on the ones who don’t. ❌
And the reminder that being alive—right here, right now—is the biggest blessing of all. 🌅
So love your people. Love your dog 🐶. Laugh hard, paint the shitty pictures, check your friends for ticks, sit in silence when that’s what they need. Don’t wait to say the words. Don’t wait to live the life.
Because at the end of it all, tomorrow isn’t promised. 💯
Aging teaches you to recognize the blessings hiding in plain sight—the small acts of kindness, the friends who show up without being asked, the quiet moments that feel louder than any words. It teaches you to let go of the rest—the users, the fair-weather friends, the people who only show up for what they can take.
It teaches you to stand in your own power, to trust your instincts, and to be unapologetically yourself. To speak your truth. To live loudly, fiercely, and with intention.
Because life is fragile, messy, and beautiful all at once. And the people who matter? They’re the ones you’d move mountains for, and they’d move mountains for you in return.
So hold them close. Cherish the laughter, the loyalty, the heart-of-gold souls who make your life worth it. And never, ever forget—every sunrise is a gift, every day is a chance, and every moment is yours to own. 🌅💛
