Better Late Than Never!

I came across a pretty interesting documentary on television last night. It profiled four women who were all over the age of 50 when they gave birth to children. Two of the women were already mothers and the other two women had never experienced the joy of motherhood. In fact one of the women had previously given birth to 10 children! She decided to give it another try when she married for third time. Not only did she try, but she succeeded, twice! She said that she wanted her new husband, who had no children his own, to experience fatherhood.

Although the oldest woman profiled was over 70 years old when she gave birth (I know what you are thinking…), the woman who stood out to me the most was in her 60’s. Let’s call her Sue because I don’t remember her name. Sue had spent all of her adult life caring for her sick and aging parents. First, she helped her mother care for her father. She made a promise to her father on his death bed that she would also care for her mother. Shortly after her father’s death, her mother became ill. Sue kept the promise she made to her father and cared for her mother to the end. When her mother died, Sue was in her 40’s and was just beginning to start her life. She met a man and married and soon realized that she may have waited to long to attempt to start a family. Then in her 50’s, Sue began her quest to motherhood with the assistance of IVF, or In Vitro Fertilization (just like all f the other women in the documentary). Sue gave birth to a baby girl just before turning 60 and during the show; she was actually trying to find a doctor that would assist her in giving birth one more time.

The reason Sue stood out to me is because she is just like many of us. We spend most of our lives being busy. Busy working at jobs we hate, being afraid to pursue our dreams, putting others before us, and watching, from the sidelines, as others realize their dreams. Then, one day we realize that while we were busy being busy, life has gone on without us.

Today, I want you to know that it is not too late! You still have time to do what is in your heart to do. Life happens whether you decide to participate or not. Take an active role in life. Start by getting out your pen and paper and writing down all of the things that you intend to do before you die. Of those things, decide which can be done before you turn 50. If you are 50 and over, decide which can be done within the next ten years. Once you have made your decision, begin to design an intentional plan that will allow you to fulfill those goals. Look at it like this, if a 70 year woman can give birth, you can certainly write a book, score a film, or open a restaurant. You are the only thing standing in your way.

I started a new list of my own. The first thing I wrote down was to run in a marathon. What's is the first thing on your list?

To Blog…Nakeia