Turning 50 Surprise!
So I have been wanting to do this for awhile. Just write down what is in my head and I really don't like to write on a piece of paper anymore--hand cramps you know. At any rate, turning 50 has been one of the most surreal things that has happened to me. For real! I dreaded it. I mean countdown, laughed about it, but deep down did not want it to happen, at all. So I did what every normal gal almost turning 50 does. I planned to have lots of parties happen in my honor. Just kidding, but I did let everyone know that I was turning 50 so they would make sure to remember. And trust me, they did NOT forget!
First, my hubby tells me he is going to take me on a little weekend trip right before my big day --we headed to several southern Indiana casinos--anyone who knows me knows I love to play slot machines. Just the cheap ones and I never spend very much and I am usually pretty lucky (I get that from my mamaw). So on our way home we called my son to see if he wanted to go out and eat some Chinese food with us- he was a liar just like the rest of them and agreed to go. My first clue something was up was when we turned and went around the block to get to our house--I thought something was wrong with my husband, but when we turned into our addition, I saw cars covering our entire yard and he stopped the car and said "oh yeah--I also forgot to tell you we are having a little party." Little party! Whatever! We pulled into the driveway and there- underneath a huge white tent- stood my daughter (who I thought was working that day in Lafayette), my best friend (who I had seen a picture of at her lake house in Michigan) and so many of my friends and family I couldn't believe my eyes! I just wanted to sit in the car and cry! I hardly ever am surprised. I am too nosey, too deductive, and too much of a control freak to ever allow something like this to happen, yet it did. They pulled it off and I knew my daughter had been stressed to the max trying to do so because as soon as the surprise was done--so was she and the wine started flowing. It was the first time a party like that had ever been given for me…and I loved every minute of it!
A couple days later my best friend and I were taken on a surprise adventure around our birthdays by another friend (who had taken the 50 plunge the year before) to Louisville to stay in a boutique hotel called 21C - complete with a giant GOLD naked man statue in front of the hotel. We were pampered with pedicures, hair styles and a wonderful dinner out. Our little trip was so much fun and made turning 50 the best thing to happen.
Then reality set in. I am 50. Fifty! That seemed so far away just a few years ago didn't it? I look in the mirror and the same person looks back at me, except with some wrinkles, some gray hair, and several extra pounds, yet I feel no different. How does this happen? I mean of course I have new ideas about a lot of things, some old ideas about some things and very few thoughts about things I once thought were important. For instance, I now understand that making money and becoming rich is not what life is all about, I am more focused on family than I used to be when I was young, and I no longer think that popularity and friendships are the most important thing in the world. Don't get me wrong, I never believed I was popular, nor did I care so much, but I did worry about what people thought of me and all that garbage that came with it. It is so freeing to not worry about that. I only worry about what my husband and my children think of me mostly. After that I do try to please my immediate family and sometimes I succeed and sometimes I fail, but I try. Mostly I just please myself. Or at least I am working on that in my 50's. I am trying to work on myself for sure. This blog is a huge important part of that. This one feels very scattered and rambling, hopefully the ones to follow will be much better. It is my goal this year to make this a year of growth. Inner growth….stay away from anymore outer growth - the gym visits are a part of that and a part of a later post. Until next time….50 IS just a number!
First, my hubby tells me he is going to take me on a little weekend trip right before my big day --we headed to several southern Indiana casinos--anyone who knows me knows I love to play slot machines. Just the cheap ones and I never spend very much and I am usually pretty lucky (I get that from my mamaw). So on our way home we called my son to see if he wanted to go out and eat some Chinese food with us- he was a liar just like the rest of them and agreed to go. My first clue something was up was when we turned and went around the block to get to our house--I thought something was wrong with my husband, but when we turned into our addition, I saw cars covering our entire yard and he stopped the car and said "oh yeah--I also forgot to tell you we are having a little party." Little party! Whatever! We pulled into the driveway and there- underneath a huge white tent- stood my daughter (who I thought was working that day in Lafayette), my best friend (who I had seen a picture of at her lake house in Michigan) and so many of my friends and family I couldn't believe my eyes! I just wanted to sit in the car and cry! I hardly ever am surprised. I am too nosey, too deductive, and too much of a control freak to ever allow something like this to happen, yet it did. They pulled it off and I knew my daughter had been stressed to the max trying to do so because as soon as the surprise was done--so was she and the wine started flowing. It was the first time a party like that had ever been given for me…and I loved every minute of it!
A couple days later my best friend and I were taken on a surprise adventure around our birthdays by another friend (who had taken the 50 plunge the year before) to Louisville to stay in a boutique hotel called 21C - complete with a giant GOLD naked man statue in front of the hotel. We were pampered with pedicures, hair styles and a wonderful dinner out. Our little trip was so much fun and made turning 50 the best thing to happen.
Then reality set in. I am 50. Fifty! That seemed so far away just a few years ago didn't it? I look in the mirror and the same person looks back at me, except with some wrinkles, some gray hair, and several extra pounds, yet I feel no different. How does this happen? I mean of course I have new ideas about a lot of things, some old ideas about some things and very few thoughts about things I once thought were important. For instance, I now understand that making money and becoming rich is not what life is all about, I am more focused on family than I used to be when I was young, and I no longer think that popularity and friendships are the most important thing in the world. Don't get me wrong, I never believed I was popular, nor did I care so much, but I did worry about what people thought of me and all that garbage that came with it. It is so freeing to not worry about that. I only worry about what my husband and my children think of me mostly. After that I do try to please my immediate family and sometimes I succeed and sometimes I fail, but I try. Mostly I just please myself. Or at least I am working on that in my 50's. I am trying to work on myself for sure. This blog is a huge important part of that. This one feels very scattered and rambling, hopefully the ones to follow will be much better. It is my goal this year to make this a year of growth. Inner growth….stay away from anymore outer growth - the gym visits are a part of that and a part of a later post. Until next time….50 IS just a number!
love this!!!. . . .keep it up! De:)
ReplyDeleteVery well said, my child. You have worked hard at your jobs, wife, mother and teacher. You deserve only the best in the Next 30!
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