It's coming....
....and there's nothing anyone can do to stop it.
I'm talking about my 50th birthday, which will occur next Tuesday. Ironically, I'll be on a plane to Charlotte that morning, as I have business there that day and in Columbia, SC the following day. Great way to celebrate.
But I'm not depressed, at least I don't think I am. Mostly, I'm grateful to still be here, after a major heart attack at 32 and a coronary bypass at 34. I'm grateful to have a family who loves me and tolerates me, in that order most of the time! And I'm most grateful to my wife of now 24 years (I must remember to change my profile), for being there always.
And like so many people, my first 50 years have been marked with challenges, triumphs and setbacks, but I wouldn't trade any of it. Well, I might trade the last few days, when I've been slowed by what I think was a case of food poisoning that is still hanging on four days on. Just about out of the woods, so to speak, but there were times I began to wonder.....
I remember my father when he was 50. Unfortunately, he died at 56, a brittle diabetic who did not take care of himself and paid the price. As Kevin Costner's character says during "Field of Dreams," "...by the time he was my age, he was ancient." Hopefully I don't seem too ancient to my kids. I certainly don't feel it.
My firm belief is that age is largely a state of mind. I tell my wife this a lot, because she's a little older than I am, and my foolishness probably keeps her younger than she'd otherwise be. And my state of mind these days is one of "I can do that" more than "you have to be kidding," which I would think is largely a good thing.
So, if you're approaching a milestone birthday as I am, embrace what's about to happen. The best is yet to come!
I'm talking about my 50th birthday, which will occur next Tuesday. Ironically, I'll be on a plane to Charlotte that morning, as I have business there that day and in Columbia, SC the following day. Great way to celebrate.
But I'm not depressed, at least I don't think I am. Mostly, I'm grateful to still be here, after a major heart attack at 32 and a coronary bypass at 34. I'm grateful to have a family who loves me and tolerates me, in that order most of the time! And I'm most grateful to my wife of now 24 years (I must remember to change my profile), for being there always.
And like so many people, my first 50 years have been marked with challenges, triumphs and setbacks, but I wouldn't trade any of it. Well, I might trade the last few days, when I've been slowed by what I think was a case of food poisoning that is still hanging on four days on. Just about out of the woods, so to speak, but there were times I began to wonder.....
I remember my father when he was 50. Unfortunately, he died at 56, a brittle diabetic who did not take care of himself and paid the price. As Kevin Costner's character says during "Field of Dreams," "...by the time he was my age, he was ancient." Hopefully I don't seem too ancient to my kids. I certainly don't feel it.
My firm belief is that age is largely a state of mind. I tell my wife this a lot, because she's a little older than I am, and my foolishness probably keeps her younger than she'd otherwise be. And my state of mind these days is one of "I can do that" more than "you have to be kidding," which I would think is largely a good thing.
So, if you're approaching a milestone birthday as I am, embrace what's about to happen. The best is yet to come!
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