I’ve got some trepidation about getting older, but I’m not moaning and groaning about it. I’m grateful for the time I’ve had and for the time I have left.
Random 5 Friday is a weekly meme started by Nancy at A Rural Journal. Link up and join in if you’d like—it’s fun!
One
I will turn 50 years old next Thursday. I have truly mixed feelings about it. I usually enjoy my birthdays and don’t mind getting older. I see a birthday as a new beginning, a new phase. This time, I am not sure. I’m a bit unsettled about it.
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| Me at age 10. |
Two
I remember my mother saying she didn’t mind turning 40. But when 50 came around, it was jarring for her. I remember her saying that my father asked her, “How does it feel to be a half-century old?”
That was almost 36 years ago. Now I’m turning a half-century old. Wow. I can’t quite wrap my head around that.
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| Me at 26. |
Three
I didn’t mind turning 40 either. It was kind of fun, and funny. And 40 really was a new beginning for me. I was planning my marriage to Larry when I turned 40. We got married the November after my birthday in May.
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| Me and Waddles when I was 40. |
Four
It’s not that I want to go back in time. My favorite age is always my current age. I wouldn’t be 20 again, or 30, or even 40 again for anything. I’m healthier, smarter about life, more sure about myself now than I have ever been. That’s a perk of my getting older.
Five
I do have a sense that I should have accomplished more in life by now. But I try to just let those thoughts float on down the river.
My dreams are still going strong on the cusp of 50. I’ve got a lot of writing to do. I’ve got my freelance editing to start. I’ve got a lot of healing left to experience, a lot of spiritual growth to work towards. I’ve got a lot of things to do for others. I’ve got growing older with Larry to look forward to. I’ve still got a lot of living left to do.
What has been your favorite age so far? What do you like about getting older?
Yes, you've still got a lot of livin' to do!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, dear cuz! I know it's not until next Thursday but it feels appropriate to say it now after this fun and inspiring post.
Thank you, Elizabeth. You're so sweet!
DeleteAs far as feeling that you should have accomplished more in life by now - I honestly think that almost everyone feels that and it's a very natural feeling. Having read your blog for over a year, I think you are a fantastic person!! Besides, 50 is the new 35 :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind comment, Keith. 50 the new 35? OK, I'll go with that. :-)
DeleteTurning 50 was a watershed moment for me as well -- I think I realized I would not live as many years as I had in the past. That's an eye-opener. But by the same token, how nice to have made it to 50. Those children in Oklahoma did not. It's all about the perspective. xo
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nancy. Yes, one's perspective is very important. Sadly, many people never reach 50.
DeleteMe, I am staring at the Big 5-0 too this year. Funny thing is, I don't feel 50, mentally. Though some days, the body sure notices the mileage! Especially the hands. Arthritis in the hands sucks.
ReplyDeleteMy easy goal for 50, is to ride my age in miles, on my bike that day...weather permitting.
Thanks for your comment. I don't feel 50 mentally, either, but my body lets me know that it's not 20 anymore. Arthritis is no fun. I love your goal of riding 50 miles on your b-day!
DeleteWell I've got ten years on you!!... Age didn't bother me...but 60.... now that is an age that I don't like!! So you still have 10 great years:)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bev. I hope you will find that the 60s are great, too!
DeleteHappy upcoming birthday! I hope fifty turns out to be the best decade yet! And that you enjoy your week off!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lisa. I have the feeling the 50s are going to be the best yet. :-) And I am so looking forward to not having to go into the office for a week.
DeleteHi Tina, a very happy upcoming birthday to you! Enjoy your time.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda. I appreciate it.
DeleteHappy almost birthday, Tina! I'm well into my 50's, and I can tell you it's a good decade...I'm sure it will be for you also!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Janet. I'm glad you have been enjoying the 50s, and I hope I will too. :-)
DeleteHappy soon to be birthday!! I am 54 and have never minded getting older. Perhaps because I never felt any older!!
ReplyDelete30's were the best....no longer a young in', people valued my opinion and I still had a rockin body!!
Thanks, Debbie. I don't feel older on the inside. I just see signs of it on the inside. Love your comment about the 30s!
DeleteI mean I just see signs of it on the OUTside. :-)
DeleteI think I could say my 40's were pretty exciting, though then my 50's were to and I'm into my 60's by 3 years and now that you ask 60 isn't so bad either...but still my favourite would be my '40's... with all of your great ambitions you'll not have a spare moment to care :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lynn. You're right--I need to be too busy to worry about aging!
DeleteHappy Birthday Tina. I can relate to your feelings on turning 50. I do appreciate my years of living and yet there is a lingering of when I was a child and people 50 were really old to me, so it makes me gasp to think I am over 50. LOL. I will be 55 this year and I will technically qualify for senior discounts some places..and I feel nothing like a senior. I am probably in the best physical health of my life, exercise has done wonders for me mentally and physically and I thank God for that. And I am so grateful that I am not being so bogged down and drained from intense OCD anymore. My biggest regret are the years I feel I was really crippled with OCD, what a waste.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter and I were chatting on the phone the other day and she told me that she had spoken to someone that her parents have young souls and the older we get the more adventurous we have become. I wanted to hug her through the phone, it made me feel really good to think I am thought of that way.
I think my favorite age might be now.
Thank you, Krystal Lynn. That was a wonderful thing for your daughter to say about you and your husband. You have such a compassionate and joyful heart and such a zest for living--it's wonderful to know you!
DeleteI think my favorite age is right now, too. :-)
Happy almost birthday! 50 feels like a big milestone. My husband loved turning 50 (he needs his head examined) - and I went into 50 kicking and screaming (well, maybe not really screaming). The truth is - I don't feel much different, and my 50's have been good so far. I guess the trick is to just sit back and enjoy!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Karen. I like that advice--sit back and enjoy! I really don't feel any different as I get older, either, but I notice some changes in my attitudes and temperament--I think I'm a bit calmer and able to "sit back and enjoy." :-)
DeleteHappy upcoming birthday! I love my 50s...best decade so far!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nadine. I'm glad you love the 50s. I think it's going to be best yet for me, too! :-)
Delete50 is great - you don't have to worry about what people think of you!
ReplyDeletePopped by from Random 5 Friday.
thriftshopcommando.blogspot.com
Thanks, Tami, nice to meet you. :-) I really don't worry about what others think nearly as much as I used to. That is definitely a perk of getting older.
DeleteGod suggested 120 years is a good age for humans - SO - you are not even half way . . .
ReplyDeleteMy favorite??? I guess i haven't reached my favorite age, yet - I'll have to test them all out and report back later (giggle)
Happy Early Birthday to you - i sure am grateful you are here, sharing with all of us.
Love & Love,
-g-
Thank you so much, Georgy. Your comment made me smile. I like testing out the ages, too!
Deletehappy early birthday to you! i'll be 50 in july this year. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you. So you're right behind me in birthdays, I see. :-)
DeleteI enjoyed seeing the pics of you at different ages.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kristina. I've changed just a wee bit through the years. :-)
DeleteI am going to be 58 in July. I have to say I hated turning 50. I no longer felt like I could go into the jr. section and pick out a tshirt without everyone whispering about me. Now, I am happy to go to the "old lady section" in Dillards and Macys....and all the women who are over 50 know just where I am talking about.....and I like NOT dying my hair anymore. I like getting senior discounts because I still feel young enough to enjoy whatever it is I am getting a senior discount for. Also, I do get a tiny bit of respect being the oldest person at my job. I do mean tiny...but, hey, it's something! I have things about every decade though that make them special to me. I just love this whole entire life thing. Really hate to have to give it up someday...just hope the next life lives up to it's expectations! :) Have a wonderful 50th birthday...and you sure were a cutey pie at 28, weren't you?
ReplyDeleteOh, that was 26....that's one bad thing about being nearly 58....can't remember things for a long time. :)
DeleteThank you for your kind comment. You have a great attitude. I, too, have enjoyed something with every age.
DeleteOh I agree you have so much living left to do! I try really hard not to focus on age (though it's not always easy). I'm only as old as I allow myself to feel. These days I'm feeling 21!! ha ha
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sunny. I don't feel 21, but I feel younger than I thought I would at my age. I'm not going to let age be an excuse to stop me from doing something I'm able to do.
DeleteThis is a truly beautiful post, Tina. Thank you so much for sharing . I'm like you, and have mixed feelings about turning 50, (the first day of August.) It's a little scary, but quite exhilarating at the same time! I have so many things i want to accomplish in the coming years, and i'm like you in that i'm more confident and more comfortable with myself than i've ever been. :) But i still have so much to learn, and i look so forward to that. No one could pay me to be 25 again. I like myself now.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful weekend!
Thank you, Mary. I don't want to go back in time, either. I like knowing what I kinow now, and I'm looking forward to learning more and more!
DeleteYaY!!! 50! so good to read how you just don't mind this new decade; I've seen/heard too many mourn to even turn 40. What a blessing to find yourself to grow in beauty and grace as the years turn. (It does seem to pass ever so quick doesn't it? teehee)
ReplyDeleteGod Bless you!!
Thank you, Deanna. Yes, doesn't time fly? It seems like just yesterday I was turning 40. :-)
DeleteHappy Birthday Tina! This is such a lovely and positive post. I am having a tough time in my 50s and really need to explore my spirituality to get into a better place. One more week of school and then I can do my thing. I am thinking of retiring so I can do the things I want. We'll see...
ReplyDeleteThank you, Patty. Exploring my own spirituality has become more important to me, too. I hope you enjoy all your creative talents while you're on summer break!
Delete