50 is Fabulous!!!

Happy Hump Day! Happy National Lobster Newburg Day! Wish that was what's for dinner. Ha. Some of you have followed my 'Celebrating Randomness' blog over the years. I want this to be my travel blog, but I'm afraid I will be veering right on the daily for other random interesting tidbits.

I was just sitting here pondering what I should write about today, and it occurred to me that I am 72 days away from the big FIVE-OHHHH!! Egads! No idea how that happened, but in embracing my age, my wisdom and my growth over the last four years, I am feeling three things...grateful, thankful and blessed!! I know that sounds kitschy, like the words and phrases that once only decorated my living room wall, but I am becoming more aligned with those feelings with each passing day. Alignment is such a great word, one that I could talk about for hours, but I will save that topic for another day.

Back in April 2017, when I decided that it was time to create a new life for myself, I was feeling positive but leery at the same time (because that makes total sense). I just knew that I had to put one foot in front of the other and head out the door. I had to risk everything, including irreparable damage to my relationships with my kids. I was in an unhappy place for a really long time. I wanted more. Four years later, I'm at an amazing peaceful place in my life. Sure, there is plenty of room for improvement, but that will forever be, the evolution of meeeeee. So I'm here today, in the year of our Lord 2021, to tell you that 50 is fucking fabulous. Sorry if that offends your delicate tendancies, but it is. I am, along those lines, on a mission to celebrate my 50th trip around the sun. We are headed to Vegas June 5-9. There are three things I'm going to knock off my bucket list while I'm there...

1. I am going to have a goldfish pedicure. Hahaha. I'm totally grossed out and yet fascinated by this process.

2. I am going to blow $50 at the blackjack table. I'm not a gambler. Don't really like it, if I'm honest. $20 in the slots and I'm done.

3. I am going to celebrate my birthday dinner at the Top of the World restaurant at the top of the Stratosphere, which revolves 360 degrees every 80 minutes. When in Rome.

How does 50 compare to 30??

So...if I had to name five things that are wayyyy better at 50 than 30...

1. My body image. At 30, I was still freaking out about extra pounds. At 50, I acknowledge that for my health, I need to pay attention to what I put in my body. At the same time, though, I am learning to love and accept my physical self. I'm okay with a size 16. It's what I have been for most of my adult life, and I finally accept that it's what I'm probably supposed to be.

2. My relationships are far more genuine. At 30, I was living overseas and developing friendships left and right. I was part of a large expatriate community. We had an incredible social life. At 50, I have streamlined my friendships to include the people who I value most in my life. I'm not nurturing fruitless relationships.

3. I have learned how to say NO. At 30, I was literally chasing my tail. I had two small children, I was maintaining a full social life, trying to hold a marriage together, and no matter what people asked of me, I said yes. I am no longer that person. I don't have enough time left on this planet. I am now doing things I want to do. Nothing more, nothing less.

4. My partnership is stronger. At 30, I was still so young and naive. I jumped head first into marriage at 26 without figuring out who I was. At 50, I can see so much clearer what I want, who I really am, and the difference between who I am and who I am in any given moment. That discernment enables me to see the bigger picture and know what matters. My relationship with Beau is undoubtedly the biggest part of my life now.

5. I am far more tuned into the concept of spirituality at 50 than I ever could have been at 30. And I am learning what it entails to achieve some level of enlightenment in this lifetime. I am certainly a million light years from where my amazing friend Zoe is. And then there is author/speaker Esther Hicks (my new 'mentor' 🙂), who motivates me to want to make amazing changes in my life. Topic for another day, but life-altering stuff to be sure.