September 10, 2017: Halfway There?

Enjoying the Oregon Coast

I vividly remember being asked as a child to describe what I hoped to have accomplished by age fifty. This thought was inconceivable to my young mind.

"Fifty? That's ancient!" or something close to that was my roadblock to answering this question. So I answered with the stereotypical; married with children and grandchildren, living in a comfy home and....knitting by the fire??

But here I am almost to this milestone. The big one. So what are my thoughts now with my more mature forty-nine-year-old mind?

"I made it!!!!! YES!"

Yep, I'm thrilled. I can truly say that I have never dreaded a birthday or wished to be young again. Every wrinkle is earned and with every new ache, a reminder to enjoy the good health I have today. Reversal is not an option.

A wise person once told me that getting older was much better than the alternative. I have always held this thought close to heart. Every day really is a blessing.

This birthday will be celebrated taking in the beauty of Oregon without a worry while meandering the beautiful Pacific coastline. With the constant sounds and smells of the ocean and my husband's warm hand holding mine on my knee, I am taking it all in and affirming another wise statement told to me.

"You don't know what you don't know."

As a child, I hadn't a clue what this big world would have to offer me in these glorious, but rapidly-passing fifty years of life. I really didn't know even at age thirty. By forty, my outlook definitely had a more refined perspective. And by my fifties, I certainly don't have it all figured out, but my "what I know" receptacle is very full and will pay off well in future decision-making.

Fifty is going to be a great year. I just know it. By my fifty-first birthday, our family house will likely be gone and a new chapter opened with a new city added to the equation. I am hoping for good health and a year filled with achieving goals and just embracing each day of life given to me.

For now, I need to go watch the beautiful Pacific Ocean sunset with my husband and enjoy my last two days of being forty-nine.

Yes, life is good, indeed.