A dose of the 30's

I met my friend Ana in 2002. Wait, was it 2003? 

Either way, I was working at The Montessori school as a teaching assistant (it was there where my dream of becoming an Elementary school teacher was shot to hell, no joke).

I was in my early 20's. Ana was in her early 30's. We both spoke Spanish and became instant friends.

We have had many interesting conversations about life, love, aging, beauty, you name it. I learned a lot from her. A lot!! (Cooking, being a mom, Castilian Spanish, culture, etc).  Damn her for having to move to Italy a few years later.

Celebrating my 23rd birthday (I believe). A few months before she left the states.  She was pregnant with her 2nd.

As my 30th birthday is approaching, 197 days to be exact, I am reminded of something my dear Ana, told the younger 22 year old me.

Hold that thought. 

You see, when you are 22, you aren't really worried about aging, grey hairs, your metabolism, or saggy boobs. I wasn't a mom to worry about the saggy boobs (didn't have boobs then & still don't) and aging is for those who are much older. It just seemed like 30 was far far away.

Needless to say, that did not stop her from giving me some insight as to what I could possibly be expecting, a good friend does that.

Those words of hers came back to me, yesterday, while I was at the doctor.

I went to the doctor, mainly, to get a refill on my allergy meds and be prepared for Spring, when she finally decides to grace us with her presence. Blasted winter!!!
While I was there, I also wanted to discuss my exhaustion and weight gain with him and see if it was a thyroid issue. (It does run in the family).

He ordered a handful of lab tests (to get done sometime next week when fasting) and basically told me, that as a person gets older their metabolism changes, and so their diet & exercise regimen must change as well.
Blasted doctor said it out loud!!!

Apparently, my current 3-4 times a week of exercising isn't cutting it anymore, that I must up the ante to 6 days a week.

(Jaw drops here).  Ana was right!!! 
(When I was 22, she had told me that once you hit 30 your metabolism goes down the drain, the weight just packs on, and you have to work twice as hard just to maintain your weight).

Sigh.

I'm not saying I did not know that I should work out more. No. Trust me, I know!!!
It's the fact that all of it is coming together and a "dose of the 30's" is really kicking in.
(I made that up and sticking with it).

Damn it!!

I don't know if all this (my current skin problems, my grey hair, my weight gain, etc) is just a coincidence OR if it's because of my age??

I repeat. Turning 30 would not be that big of a deal to me, if my body wasn't physically showing signs of it. (Sigh).