Living the Dream

Living the Dream

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

On being Half a century

I turned 50 on Monday.  I remember when my mom turned 50.  It was a BIG deal.. she was so...... O.L.D.  Now that I am here, I can say with unwavering certainty, that 50 is NOT old.  50 is just getting started. 

Now there are drawbacks to being 50.  You forget what you are saying in the middle of the sentence.  Your dark lovely hair is now a silver tinted mass.   You can't see squat without your glasses.  The worst part is taking them off and forgetting where you put them, and being unable to see them to find them.  That's cool.   I've always been a bit of a swan, falling at the most awkward times, and that hasn't stopped with age.  I tripped over the gas hose at the station last week, and fell (after hopping and pulling my hamstring trying to catch myself) straight to the ground, taking out my elbow and my right hip.  I still haven't quite figured out how I scraped my left elbow and sprain my right hip, but that's how it turned out.  I used to could fall and be ok, but it took 2, count them, TWO days to start feeling like my old self.  That old commercial... "I've fallen and I can't get up"  rings true.  First thing I thought of when I fell was, "Crap, wonder who saw that", so I knew I wasn't too hurt.  Still worried about "how it looked to others".  

But other than the falling, the blindness, the hair color, the massive chin hairs that grow for no particular reason and at the speed of sound, the hot flashes, and the bladders inability to cooperate on ANY level, during a huge laugh, a sneeze, and just forget about jumping or running, All that?? just pesky little flies in the scheme of life.  Because the good stuff far outweighs the bad.

Your kids are growing up, and becoming your best friends for life.   You actually realize your parents absolutely ARE the smartest things out there and you listen to them....in some cases, they even come to you and ask your opinion.  That's HUGE.  You're relaxed about your house, your hair being fixed every second, and things like what's for dinner?... How about nachos?? are greeted with a resounding  "WOOHOO." 

You get grandbabies that rock your world.  You watch tv and look at the youngsters on the screen and critique them on what they should do, because you've been there and MADE those mistakes. 

God took me out of the fast lane for the last 8 months and made me be STILL.  He made me appreciate life, money, my family, my short time on this planet, and made me understand how everything COUNTS.  Every decision, every plan, every thought, it all counts.   I was rushing through life, not even realizing what was passing me by, until God took everything I THOUGHT I valued away and made me realize that laughing with your kids over P B & J's, walking through your yard actually APPRECIATING the fact that you have a yard, all these things count and are big deals. 

50 is going to be a good year.  And a good launching pad... for the rest of my life.  I'm all about 50.  Fabulous, freeing 50.  Bring it. 


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