Here I am. Fifty. The big 5 – 0. With the grey hair to prove it. I have been contemplating this fact for the past month. What does it mean? What have I done with my life?
A poem has been rattling round my brain. A poem I heard when I was about twenty-five – Warning by Jenny Joseph (sometimes called When I am old). It starts like this:
“When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.”
Well, I’ve worn purple for decades. Perhaps I have been subconsciously preparing myself?
This week I saw a meme:
“I don’t know how to act my age. I’ve never been this old before.“
I think this says it all. I don’t feel fifty. I didn’t feel forty-something or thirty-something either. I still quote movies, have fun dressing up in costumes, reading and playing D&D. – things I have done since I was in school. I still have the same hopes and dreams I had in my twenties. I do own a house and have a family. Grown up stuff. Other than developing the grey streak and taking up crochet, not much else has changed really.
Even my family acknowledged this: presents included Doctor Who, pirate, dragon, steampunk toys (or will be once the steampunk paint job is completed), and a writing paraphernalia. Huzzah!
One bonus is the decades of a professional career and financial responsibility; I now have the opportunity to follow my dreams. The downside? It has taken me this long to finally work toward my dreams.
When I started writing, I picked a goal – one that was both ambitious but not totally unreachable. I wanted to publish my first book before I turned fifty. Pinch me. I made it!
And what do I do to celebrate such a momentous milestone? Celebrate with my friends on Talk like a Pirate Day – at a seafood restaurant – of course!
Half a century? No biggie. Fifty is cool. Here’s to following my dreams…
And not taking so long this time.