Monday, January 14, 2013

Five O

I have turned 50.

You might think that would be cause for distress? On the contrary, I love this phase of my life. The hectic hustle and bustle of youth had passed, and I have settled into a familiar lifestyle which is as comfortable as an old shoe.

Maybe some of you are fighting old age with a vengeance. Not me. I intend to sit back and enjoy every minute of it.

Truthfully I thought I would not feel any different than I did when I was in my 30's and 40's. After all, they say age is just a number. But as the months went by I began to realize that being 50 means that things do change, some for the better and some for the worse.

For a start, I found that gradually, I could no longer do simple, physical things with ease. Rising from a low chair for example, required a lot more effort than it did before. It's the act of propelling yourself upwards that is so difficult. I also start to get age spots on my cheeks. They just seem to appear overnight. And thank goodness for hair dye because I begin to realize that if I didn't dye my hair, it would be grey all over.

A little nap in the afternoon suddenly becomes an attractive idea, and if I sit down in one place for too long, I suddenly feel my eyes beginning to close that I tend to miss the end of films or chunks of programs on TV that I was anxious to watch all the way through. Now, don't make me bore you with the details of the menopause - but then everyone knows what they are! Of course the eyesight tends to get worse, that I have to have reading glasses within my grasp in case I need to read labels, or cooking directions from a box.

On the good side, now that I am fifty, I have earned respect from people. The fact that I am not expected to run marathons, or carry anything really heavy is an advantage. And if people expect me do these things, then I can protest and say that I cannot do that at my age!' I also like the fact that it's OK to dress for comfort and no-one will judge me.

On the whole being 50 means slowing down a little, taking the pressure off myself and learning to be me. I enjoy it. I embrace it.

Here I am at 50, enjoying the United States from the front seat of a Ford Platinum.

4 comments:

ADMIN said...

Happy 50! I have missed you! just this weekend I was telling my daughter that I was thinking about Odette and hoping to hear from her...and here you are.

Fi from Four Paws and Whiskers said...

Looking great too. Happy Birthday xxxx

Odette Bautista Mikolai said...

Hi Fi and ML!
I am still here, though had been very busy with work. The real reason i had stopped writing coz blogger changed it's home page format and i can't seem to get used to it. Even if i tweaked my post, it would still come out in one paragraph! i don't know how to navigate the changes and i don't understand why they have to change what is already working to something that don't.
but hey, i am happy to know that iam missed and i made a commitment to continue writing as this is our way of keeping in touch with each other's lives. i missed you all here too!
so let's all toast to a new year and hope that we will hear from the rest of the gang.
hugs and kisses'
odette

Odette Bautista Mikolai said...

Mimi,
i finally found a way to tweak the settings, woot, woot!
i think i am going to like this new format anyhow.

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