Sometimes you have to look at an old photo to really see how much life has happened.
This month, as we celebrate our 21st wedding anniversary, we have been doing a little more looking back than usual.
There are the photographs from those early years. Two people in love, building a life together, dreaming about what could come next.
And then there are the photographs of us today.
We are still those two people.
But we are also very different people.
Twenty one years of marriage will do that.
Life will do that.
And maybe one of the gifts of getting older is finally being able to look back at who you were without judging that version of yourself for not knowing what you know today.
We Thought Success Meant Building More
When we got married, we were focused on building.
We wanted to make money. We bought rental properties. We owned the Penn Avenue Mail Center owned her own Virtual Assistan Practice and Mack worked at US Steele. We were constantly thinking about the next opportunity and searching for the next good idea that might create another stream of income.
There always seemed to be something else we could build, buy, start, improve, or turn into an opportunity.
At the time, that felt like progress.
And in many ways, it was.
We learned how to work together. We learned how to take risks. We learned about business, money, responsibility, perseverance, and each other.
Those years helped build the foundation of the life we have today.
We do not regret them.
But we can also admit something now that we probably could not see as clearly then.
We were tired.
Not the kind of tired that disappears after one good night of sleep.
We were physically tired.
We were mentally tired.
We were always thinking about what was next instead of always noticing what was already here.
There was another property to manage. Another business decision to make. Another opportunity to consider. Another goal waiting just beyond the one we had reached.
For a long time, we thought that was simply what ambition looked like.
Maybe for that season of our lives, it was.
Growth Sometimes Looks Like Wanting Something Different
One of the most interesting things about growing older together is realizing that the life you once wanted does not have to remain the life you want forever.
That is not failure, that is growth.
The younger versions of us were trying to build security.
The versions of us today are thinking much more about quality of life.
- We still have dreams.
- We still enjoy creating.
- We still get excited about new ideas.
But the questions have changed.
Instead of only asking, “What can we build next?” we find ourselves asking, “How do we want to live?”
- How do we want our days to feel?
- Where do we want to spend our energy?
- What keeps us connected?
- What brings us joy?
- What allows us to feel well enough to enjoy the life we have worked so hard to create?
And perhaps most importantly, how can what we have learned help someone else enjoy their life a little more too?
Those questions have become far more valuable to us than constantly chasing the next opportunity.
Our Definition of Success Changed
Success once looked like more.
- More income.
- More property.
- More opportunities.
- More accomplishments.
Today, success often looks much simpler.
- It looks like having time together.
- It looks like traveling somewhere we love.
- It looks like moving our bodies because we want to continue experiencing life.
- It looks like paying attention when we need rest.
- It looks like laughing.
- It looks like meaningful conversations.
- It looks like being present for the people we love.
- It looks like waking up and knowing that our lives do not have to impress anyone in order to be valuable.
And it looks like Move With Mack.
What began as sharing pieces of our own lives has grown into something that reflects so much of what matters to us now.
We want to thrive.
And we want other adults over 50 to believe they can thrive too.
Not by creating some perfect life.
Not by doing everything right.
But by becoming more aware of what matters, being consistent with the things that support the life they want, and recognizing the value of having support along the way.
That is what Thrive After 50 has come to mean to us.
It is not a program.
It is the way we are learning to live.
Maybe You Have Changed Too
There is a good chance the person you are today wants something different than the person you were twenty or thirty years ago.
- Maybe there was a time when your career mattered more than almost anything else.
- Maybe you were raising children and barely had enough space to think about what you wanted.
- Maybe financial security drove many of your decisions.
- Maybe you were caring for everyone around you.
- Maybe you were chasing a version of success that once felt incredibly important.
There is nothing wrong with any of that.
Those seasons helped build you.
But you are allowed to ask whether the things that mattered most then are still the things that matter most now.
After 50, that question can become incredibly powerful.
Because celebrating how far you have come is not only about remembering what you accomplished.
- It is also about recognizing how you have changed.
- What have you learned?
- What have you released?
- What matters less than it once did?
- What matters more?
- What kind of life feels good to you now?
Those answers deserve your attention.
We Are Grateful for Every Version of Us
When we look at those early photographs now, we do not see two people who were doing life wrong.
We see two people doing the best they could with the dreams, knowledge, energy, and priorities they had at the time.
We are grateful for them.
- They worked hard.
- They took chances.
- They made mistakes.
- They figured things out.
- They kept going.
And they built a life that eventually gave us enough perspective to understand that thriving is about much more than what you accumulate.
The life we have today could not exist without the life we lived then.
That may be one of the biggest lessons we have learned together.
You do not have to dislike your past in order to choose something different for your future.
Take a Moment to Notice How Far You Have Come
As we celebrate 21 years of marriage this month, we are celebrating much more than an anniversary.
We are celebrating the journey.
- The businesses
- The rental properties
- The long days
- The lessons
- The adventures
- The changes
- The things that worked
- The things that did not
- The people we were
And the people we are still becoming.
Life after 50 gives us an interesting vantage point.
There is enough life behind us to see patterns and lessons more clearly.
And hopefully, there is still plenty of life ahead of us to use what we have learned.
So maybe this month is a good time to pull out an old photograph of your own.
Look at the person staring back at you.
Think about everything they could not possibly have known was coming.
Then think about everything you have survived, built, learned, changed, loved, and experienced since that picture was taken.
Give yourself credit, you have come a long way.
And you do not have to keep chasing the person you thought you were supposed to become.
You get to decide what thriving looks like now.
For us, after 21 years together, that might be one of the greatest things worth celebrating.
Not simply how far we have come, Bbut how much we have grown along the way.
What has changed most about your definition of a good life as you have gotten older?
We would love to hear your story.
Thank you for being here,
Kirsten & Mack
Live boldly. Move confidently. Thrive intentionally.
Keep Thriving With Us
1) Join our free Thrive Community Crew, every Sunday, we deliver encouragement and life lessons to help you thrive in body, mind, and soul to your inbox. Join here
2) Enter your email below to get our latest blog posts, stories, and tips delivered straight to your inbox because life’s more fun when we journey together.
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️