You can't stop me now

Do not mistake my age

for my ending,

I am not fading,

I am not shrinking,

I am not quietly stepping aside

so the world can pretend

I was never here.

No, sweetheart...

I am just getting started.

I have lived through things

that tried to soften my voice,

dim my light,

bend my back,

break my spirit.

And yet, here I am...

Still standing,

Still laughing,

Still learning,

Still choosing,

Still becoming,

Fifty did not make me invisible,

It made me clearer.

Sixty will not make me less.

Seventy will not erase me.

Eighty will not quiet the woman

who has spent a lifetime

earning every word she speaks.

With every year

I have gathered more truth,

More courage,

More wisdom,

More of myself,

And if that makes some people uncomfortable,

well…

they will have to adjust.

I am no longer asking the world

to tell me what I am worth.

I know now.

I know the value

of every hard day I survived,

every mistake that taught me,

every loss that shaped me,

every joy that found me again.

I know that I have made a difference,

even in the quiet ways...

A kind word,

A hand held,

A door opened,

A child encouraged,

A friend reminded that

they were not alone.

That counts.

I count.

And so do you.

We have come this far,

not by accident,

not by luck alone,

but by grit,

grace,

humor,

and a very impressive ability

to keep going,

even when our knees had other plans.

So here we are.

Older?

Yes.

Wiser?

Absolutely.

Done?

Not even close.

Our voices are not fading,

They are rising.

Our worth is not decreasing,

It is deepening.

Our lives are not behind us,

They are still unfolding.

And from here on out,

we will not apologize

for taking up space,

speaking our truth,

changing our minds,

choosing ourselves,

or celebrating the women

we fought so hard to become.

We are visible,

We are valuable,

We are powerful,

And we are still here.

So make room,

Because I (we) have come this far,

and you can’t stop me (us) now.

xo

Gabby