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It seems like not all that long ago (OK, a year) when I was fussing about turning 50. Blubbering is probably more accurate. Honestly, this was a life-consuming traumatic event for me. I cried for MONTHS before my official b-day.
And I wasn’t even sure where this sadness was coming from.
Franticmommy readers may remember this soggy episode in my life and how I opted to put a positive spin on it. You can read more about the 50 Nice Things for Me Before I Turn 50 and get the whole thought process of where I was coming from.
I distinctly remember how distressing it was a year ago when that number was going to be my new age. Distressing because I did have a few, “oh crap, my life is half over” moments.
Now I am looking at 51 (as of November 30th), I am surprised to have none of those turning-50-drama-thoughts in my wheelhouse. Thank Gawd. Being over 5 decades old with a 10 year old and a 13 year old has its own set of things to navigate.
Mainly things like struggling to remember what-the-heck it was I was supposed to remember for them.
I am also proud of where I came from, and where I am headed. Fifty-one is just another mile marker or waypoint in my life journey.
Looking back over the 50-ish years is a hoot too. I remember crazy things from my past like, when I was 10, banana seat bikes were in and you were crazy-hip-and-cool of you had one. All the cool kids had banana seats and flower festooned wicker-ish basket on the front. Helmets? No such thing back then. We just all tried to hit the soft spots in the grass if we were about to wipe our bikes out.
When I was sixteen Beth by KISS, The Bad News Bears and legwarmers were da bomb. And this little company called Apple Computer Company was formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
My personal vice in my teens was the infamous “layered look.” Back in the mid-to-late 70s, if you had any style sense at all, you wore a colored turtle neck, a cotton button down shirt (in a contrasting color), and yet another button down shirt (in yet a different color) over that so you could layer the lapels. I look at pictures from that year am I looked like the StayPuff MarshMellow girl who is layered with warm clothes for a Mount Everest hike.
There were a lot of sweating, fluffy-looking, grumpy teens that year.
Now in my later years, I’ve determined that Growing up and Growing old(er) is not so bad.
I am wiser, calmer, and clearer as to what I want out of life. I will live it to the fullest, and not fall into a rut. I will love, laugh, dance, challenge, explore, and cherish.
Bring.It.ON.
