It is a funny thing, having your husband and friends all start to turn 50. I remember being in my 20’s, watching Oprah and seeing her 50th birthday party where John Travolta showed up in a plane to surprise her – in the studio (how’d they do that?!?!) and all the fun, fuss and fanfare that happened for her, on her birthday.
I remember thinking how old I THOUGHT that was, and how great she looked and then she said these words; “This is what 50 looks like”. I love that, I am so glad she said that and it sank into my brain.
This weekend we are headed to a weekend of fun on a lake in a house our dear friends have rented for all 18 of us to stay in over the weekend. We will be boating, laughing, sharing stories, hanging on the dock, and probably drinking too much and eating too much. I soooo look forward to it! This is my jam!
The Birthday Boy!!
Oh, and did I mention that we are headed to said lake house for another friends 50th birthday? Yes, that is the occasion as number 2 of our closest bestie’s falls on the other side of 50. Age really doesn’t mean too much to me on most days. It’s just a number I say, my Dad says, people say! And it is, but if I think about it too hard, it is a bit of a scary number!
Is 50 a Big Deal?
I think it has become such a big deal because it points out a half-way mark in our lives. But is it really? I am currently 48 and in all likelihood, I am already more than half-way through my journey here on this planet. Most of us at this age are. So why does 50 seem to hit the hardest? I say this as, of course, I have not turned 60! Or 70, or 80…
Aging in general brings all sorts of health related new irritants, like the colonoscopy! Mammograms, skin tags, wrinkles, thinning hair, you name it, it falls down or falls out or it falls off! Everything is less – except that fat – she seems pretty stubborn these days. And that facial hair – that is super, extra pleasant as I get older!
Although there are some hurdles to jump while getting older, it seems that the 50th birthday celebration is quite a big one, and so far they have been great! My friend Aiden (he is the guy that quit smoking I referred to in a previous post – you can read that here) always says when it is his birthday that ‘everyone has one, once a year’, but even he is making a big deal for his husband on his 50th. It is just the thing you do. I did it too, for my husband – I threw him a party for about 40 people with live music, homemade mac-and-cheese and tenderloins to name a few items – what a fun time!
My Age Progression
Turning 20 was fun because it was that much closer to 21. Drinking age! AHHHH YEAH! And graduating from college – that was a huge milestone for me. No more studying – I’m not so good at that.
Turning 30 was fun because my 20’s ended up being kind of rough and I lost a dear friend in a skiing accident among other things. The whole time had a general melancholy for me, and financially it was also hard.
Turning 40 was totally and completely easy for me – my 30’s were good to me, life had settled, I married my best friend. As I am still in my 40’s, I am now in cruise control mode and I like it. I like it a lot.
And turning 50 will be just fine… it is only getting better for me. I am more in control of my life, I have a great set-up, I enjoy change and embrace it and in general, “It’s all good!”.
So I have decided to turn the tides on this turning 50 thing, and look at all the good that comes out of it! Like spending time with the ones you hold closest. What a joy my husband’s party was: it was a weekend of fun with friends and neighbors and our community! This coming weekend will be a total blast with some of my most favorite people! I’ll try and get some good shots to share after this weekend.
My lovely sister is turning 50 in December, she is the next domino on the 50’s game…. so, in homage to Oprah, THIS IS WHAT 50 LOOKS LIKE! Not so bad I say… below are pics of my sister and me, my husband and his parents, my husband, me & my parents! CHEERS!
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