Fifty and Counting…

I have missed you. Hubby and I took a little time-out last week to enjoy the view…

We arrived in Chapel Hill last Monday without much of a plan. Other than the three lovely days we spent in Asheville at the stunning Biltmore Estate to celebrate my birthday, we were like feathers in the wind.

The last time I was this excited for a birthday I was turning 13…no sooner did I blow out the 12 pastel colored candles that dotted my favorite chocolate-chocolate cake, and rip through gifts that likely included rainbow colored toe socks and macrame jewelry, I was already thinking about the next…number 13…after all – to be a teenager meant being part of something bigger, something cooler – and somehow – tearing 9/2/77 out of the calendar would magically change me from little frizzy-haired shy girl to smooth-haired outgoing teen.

Well, I didn’t wake up with straight hair and even though my first salon visit with Mr. Joseph taught me that products can make a difference, it continued to be as true at 13 as it was at 12, that my hair looked great for the 2 minutes it took me to get from the bathroom to the front door – because once outside, all bets were off. And as far as being outgoing…well, truth is, my ability to wave a banner and march in formation to Barry Manilow’s I Can’t Smile Without You was probably the thing that brought me out of my shell – thank you Color Guard(!)…but you know what, 13 was there, doing its job – laughing with me, laughing at me, but working very hard to help me figure it all out, which has pretty much been the story every year since. And where some years do a great job of asking questions, others do a great job of answering…

Which brings us to today…the big 5-0. Unlike 13, I wasn’t thinking about 50 on my 49th, I had bigger fish to fry that day. I was climbing a mountain and creating strategies for how to manage the quiet of my newly emptied nest. However, 50 came barreling in on January 1st, 2014 and set up shop with the intent to stay. ’50’ has been as woven in my daily living as my morning cup of coffee and catching up with Dom over dinner…ever present and happily anticipated…so, by the time 9/3 finally arrived, I was more than ready, as a matter of fact, I wondered what had taken it so long…50 and I had formed a beautiful friendship long before it hit.

We started running together and began yoga together. We rode waves of emotions which some days felt like white water rafting and other days a leisurely kayak ride through a sparkling lake. 50 has helped me to appreciate time and to enjoy the development of my blog which provides me many moments of joy along with the reward of creating something from nothing and watching it grow. 50 has blurred my vision just enough to soften the new lines on my face as well as to bump up my interest in buying stock in reading glasses. 50 is solid. It’s an age that says, this person has lived through some stuff and now they get to apply their learning. 50’s cool that way.

Now, as fun as this 50 thing is, and as much as I look forward to the adventures associated with this phase of my life, it must be said that my adventures are only as vibrant as the people who assist with their creation. My four partners-in-crime color in the story of my life, everyday, as do the friends and family who have been there through the years. And while some days are as boldly colored as a glowing sunset through autumn leaves, others are lightly dappled in pastels like a slow sunrise behind a dewy spring meadow…

How I love the ebb and flow of life.

Ciao, my friends.