December 30, 2013.
Was an equally extraordinary and ordinary day…
I turned 50!
I turned 50!
After months of build up (begin here, if you’ve missed the excitement) that included a weekly birthday announcement from my mother, my half century celebration officially began.
And the answer to that million dollar question, “So, how’s it feel to be 50? (or any age for that matter…): It feels equally mundane, just another day in the life, and fabulously joyful!
The weekly cards, the surprise birthday party, and then this package that arrived with instructions to wait until my birthday to open…
…gifts that have inspired today’s post.
Here are my 50 fabulous things about being 50:
1. 50 means I’ve officially put my feet on the floor for half a century.
2. I finally know what I want to be when I grow up
3. AARP is going to put money in my pocket
4. My children are learning to live independently
6. #3 and 4 mean I can enjoy doing more of those things that feed my happy
7. 50 inspires laughter
8. My mother is still here
9. My mother is living independently
10. My mother still has a sense of humor
11. My mother bought me fifty things for my fiftieth
12. Some things, like school buses, Maxine, and my hair color will always stay the same
13. Maxine makes me look good
15. 50 inspires jokes
16. Laughter really is the best medicine
17. Laughter and an apple a day (along with a good masseuse and chiropractor) help keep the doctor away
18. 50 means there’s plenty of fodder for my fiction
19. 50 is serious business
20. My father is still here
21. My father is living independently
22. My father’s sidesplitting laugh still makes my stomach ache
23. I’ve amassed a beautiful arsenal of boots
24. I’ve amassed a beautiful arsenal of bags
25. 50 is sentimental
26. 50 is understanding the wealth that comes from friendships and family
27. My nest is nearly empty…
28. #27 means those shoes can finally take me places I want to go
29. My children are almost done pulling away
30. Diapers are a thing of the past
31. Diapers are too far in the future to fret over
32. 50 is sappy
33. 50 comes with memories in all shapes
34. 50 comes with memories in all sizes
35. 50 comes with memories in all colors
36. 50 comes with a bona fide excuse for repeating myself
37. 50 still smells good
38. My children are starting to repeat things I told them
39. My children are that much closer to thanking me
40. #3 & 4 mean I have more money to buy my favorite perfumes
41. There’s a remedy for everything
42. 50 is silly
43. Spare parts are justified
45. 50 has a sense a humor
46. I remember sweating to Night Fever, not because of it
47. I can retire in fifteen years
48. 50 is fabulous
49. I have something in common with people like Brad Pitt and Helen Hunt
50. I still remember when and once upon a time…unless I forget, in which case I still have the words to rewrite my story…
And here are those 50 sentimental, serious, and silly gifts that help make turning 50 such a splendid event!
I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! (Be sure to check out each one so you don’t miss a single laugh!)
Is it a food puree filter? Or a kidney stone sieve?
No, LOOK, it’s a sink drain screen!
I laughed so hard at this one I almost wet myself…
As if all this weren’t enough to make me feel special, after eight long days on the road, the last in the Soon-to-be-50 series of cards my mother’s been sending finally arrived.
On my birthday!
Thanks for the many happy memories, Mom!
Happy New Year, Journeyers!
Wishing you a Moment, or two or six, to feed your happy in the coming week!