So yesterday I turned 49. This was the first time I’ve actually written it out and I’ll be honest, it looks strange. Closing in on 50 is something that my parents, aunt & uncle, grandparents and all those before me do, WTH? 50? The concept sounds so off that I just may spend the next 364 days just saying “I’m nearly 50,” to make it sink in.
Yesterday my sister, who is three years younger than me, called to wish me a happy birthday and her questions made me giggle when I got off the phone. “Do you feel old? Do you still feel like a kid? Does how you feel match your age?” Ordinarily I would have expected some light-hearted teasing about “You’re so old!” and this time there was genuine seriousness in her voice, as if she was trying to begin preparing herself for what is about to happen in three years when she turns 49, and her oldest will have finished his 4th year at Baylor and her youngest will be done with high school and headed to college. Just thinking about this makes me realize that I might need to run to Costco to get her some paper lunch bags that she can store in various locations when she feels she is about to hyperventilate. Being the oldest child with the youngest children in the family is certainly proving to be a perk. My kids will only be in 8th grade when I turn 50. Glass half full.
I’ll you what I told her...
Knowing that I will be 50 next year sounds weird because how I feel and what that sounds like doesn’t match up. If you think of yourself as being old, you will be.
I see it as I am now at an age where it’s not how I impress other people or what others thinks of me, it’s about being who I am, living my life, enjoying my kids while they’re still at home because I know how fast 5 school years goes by. It’s about being happy and celebrating life, because I have friends who weren’t as lucky to have the privilege of getting older.
So for the next year, I am going to remember that “I am 49″ and not “I’m turning 50.” That life is about adventure, learning new things, challenging yourself and growing in the process, each day being celebrated with gratitude for at least one thing. In the words of the legendary Arnold Palmer, it’s about leading a life well played.