We are as old as we feel

You are only as old as you feel is a statement that I would bet most, if not all of us have heard at one time or another in our lives. We may not have understood how it pertained to us at the time but eventually we all have put it into context.

As we all know I have recently turned 50. I know right! Well I started to really give this phrase some thought. Now that I am fifty how old do I feel?

I need to have 8 hours of sleep at least 5 of the 7 nights a week. So do I feel like a teenager? We know how they can sleep all day if you let them. Naps are a fun treat on a Sunday afternoon when your chores are all done and there is a classic movie on television that you love to watch, and sleep through. So do I feel 80?

I have never thought that I was a vane person, going to the store in sweatpants and t shirt with my hair pulled on top of my head and yesterdays makeup still smeared on my face was something many have seen me do. I have always wanted to look good when I tried but high fashion was not something I went for. It had to have holes or be frayed beyond repair, or pilled up so bad it looked like I had pom poms on before I got rid of anything. I used to color my hair, then I got lazy, and cheap and wouldn’t spend the money. Again I like to look nice but I didn’t need the latest fashion highlights or color hue to do this.

I look in the mirror now that I am 50 and I think, I could find a few grey hairs if I looked hard enough. Should I start coloring my hair again? I do not have any frown line or crows feet, or other sort of wrinkle type facial things going on. Should I check into Botox? I do not weight what I did when I got married, my curves are a little more wavy than they used to be and muscles are not as tight and flexible either. Should I do a cleanse and start the latest diet fad?

I have always been in good health, I have had my share of ailments over the years but nothing major or long lasting and I have been pretty lucky with that. Recently I went in for my annual physical, get it over with the beginning of the year. And nothing out of the ordinary arose during this visit. However now that I am 50 a whole new set of tests get to be run for baselines as I age. Wow did that make me feel old.

Wrinkles, grey hair, fab, tiredness, and baseline tests all made me sit and think about how old I felt. Then I realized that I feel 50 and I think I am okay with that. I am not prematurely grey, I have about the amount of age spots and wrinkles you would expect, I could use to workout more and drop a few pounds, but who wouldn’t. All of my tests came back normal and with in good ranges. No serious illness that can be seen in my near future. I am tired because I work hard and I have raised my family so I deserve the sleep I crave each night.

You are as old as you feel…..I feel 50 and I look every year of it. So bring it on and hit me with your best shot, because I am loving this feeling of “old” age. I will check into a few anti wrinkle creams, visit the local gym, and since spring is almost here I will start eating a little more healthy. I will keep you posted on my progress, or lack of, until then, carry on.

 

Turning 50 ain’t so bad

Well I got up this morning and there was no special feeling, no dramatic changes that took place, and I don’t feel or look any different than I did yesterday. You see yesterday was my birthday and it was a big mile marker one at that. But today I realize that turning 50 ain’t so bad after all.

On New Year’s Eve I was very excited to start the new year. I couldn’t quite figure that one out, after all in less than a month I would be turning 50, what the heck was I so excited about. Then I realized that was it was in fact that I was turning 50 that I was excited about. This was going to be the start of the second half of my life. The kids are all grown up, the finances are the best they have ever been and only getting better, and we are having fun doing things together just the two of us. We met after each of us had been divorced so we started our relationship as a ready made family. We are now discovering what it is like to be a couple and I kind of like it, most of the time.

As I look back I remember all of the significant mile marker birthdays.   18 – Woot Woot I am an adult! 19- legal drinking age (yes this was a long time ago) Time to PARTY!! 21-it’s official I am all grown up. 30- made myself physically ill for a week over the fact that I was that old, and do I really have anything to show for it? 40-change in career and lifestyle, health starting to show issues; got first pair of reading glasses, female issues surgery, varicose veins showing up worse than ever, and I found my first grey hair, not so much fun. Now what is 50 going to do to me; more grey hair, wrinkles and saggy skin starting to show up, weight increases, stamina decreases, and then there is this thing called menopause. What’s in store for me now that I have hit this ripe old age of 50. After all it is suppose to be downhill from here right.

Regardless I was excited for the next mile marker birthday for me, and it is 50.  Again I will go through a lifestyle change, but one that will focus more on me and what I want, and what I want to do. I can have family time, or not. I can buy that pair of shoes that cost more than last months’ electric bill, or not. I can pack up last minute for a weekend away, or not. Since the house is theoretically speaking empty, I don’t mind being home. So I was looking forward to turning 50 and didn’t realize it until I really started to think about it.  Suddenly for the first time since I was 21 I have told people when my birthday was instead of letting it slide by without anyone acknowledging it. I didn’t even care if they knew how old I was or if they gave me a hard time about it. I took all the jeering and smiled, and thought to myself; yep I’m 50 and I can’t wait to see what is in store for me now.

So bring on the wrinkles and grey hair. Let menopause begin! I have raised my kids and I am not ready for grand kids yet because right now 50 is going to be all about me. It will be about me finding out what I like and don’t like, seeing things I have waited to see, and focusing on staying healthy so I can see what my next five mile marker birthdays have in store for me.

Turning 50 ain’t so bad after all