Aging, Distance & the Interweb

Day 2: Aging
When I was studying the older adult population in nursing school they had us participate in a mental exercise that almost sent me into a full blown panic attack. The instructor told us to close our eyes and imagine ourselves at age 30, 40, 50 and so on. I think I barely made it to 40 before I began hyperventilating. I just could not wrap my brain around the idea of being older than my parents (at the time). Now I am less than a decade away from 40 and it's not at all how I pictured it. I still fear much that comes with getting older but am so very thankful for the place I have come to in my life so far. Examples?
-I am now one of the more experienced nurses at my place of work instead of the one the doctors confuse the adolescent patients with
-I worry less about making every person happy (because I've learned no matter what I do I can't)
-I am more forgiving toward myself (never before would I have allowed a picture of myself without make-up, sticking out my tongue and showcasing all my wrinkles to be front and center on my personal website)
-I feel more at peace in general
-I have been able to keep and cultivate the things that matter and let go of the things that don't (always a work in progress)
-I still learn new things but now they are the things I want to learn about instead of the things I have to learn about
-I look forward to what the next decade will bring and then the one after that and so on (no more hyperventilation)

Day 3: Distance
Our move to Georgia rocked my world and still does. We moved away from almost every person that was dear to me, that I relied on, and that I needed. After 4 plus years it is still one of the hardest things but here are some examples of things I am thankful for with the distance.
-my best friend Erin & I get to have Skype dates frequently. Hours of conversation, generally with a glass of wine in hand. They are honest and real and essential to my survival
-we carve out a few weeks each summer to "go home" for vacation and spend some concentrated time with our loved ones
-family takes vacations to see us and spend concentrated time with us. This was most recently my sister Tiffany, her husband Adam and my nephew Caleb (and that was Adam & Tiff's third time out to Georgia!)
-it has forced us to be more intentional in our relationships (not take them for granted) and has revealed the ones that matter most and will last despite the distance

Day 4: the Interweb
How else could I video conference with friends and family, check facebook to see what EVERYONE is up to, look up anything I want on Wikipedia, get inspired by other blogs, websites, Pinterest, check the weather and read news from sources all around the world. That's obviously just a smattering of things I do on the internet. Sure, there is a lot of bad that has come from the rise of the internet but for me the good has outweighed it and I would be lost without the world wide web.
Here are a few links to some sites you might want to check out that I like to look at frequently (aside from the blogroll on our front page).
Relevant Magazine  entertainment pieces, thought pieces, theology pieces...good reads
Acts  World Vision's activism page
100 Days of Real Food good whole foods recipes

PS- the thankfulness tree is already starting to look amazing