 People used to say you were "over the hill" when you hit 50 years
old. Then they'd try to spin it in a positive light by saying, "It's
all downhill from here!"I'm pretty sure, though, that as soon as
they saw me approaching the hill, they moved it. All those senior
discounts I was looking forward to are no longer available until I'm
55 or 60.
I still have a mortgage and will have it for another 20-some
years. What's so "downhill" about having a mortgage? Added to that
is the fact that if I was of a mind to get a job to pay that
mortgage down faster, I'd have to pay someone to hire me. That kind
of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?
It helps that I still have young children at home. Oddly enough,
cleaning toilets, having peanut butter smeared on my microwave and
repeating the words "Clean your room!" "Brush your teeth!" and "Do
your homework!" makes me feel young.
Perhaps it's simply that I'm too busy to take the number 50
seriously.
Considering all the medical advances in the past 100 years, I
have a good chance of living to be 100. That's the good news. The
bad news is that I'm already halfway there.
It was spent in a blur of seasons, one after another, celebrated
by birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, vacations and productive,
fulfilling endeavors. It was also spent doing things I'd rather
forget, like toilet training, wiping noses and soothing vomiting
children. Yeah, better to develop amnesia where those things are
concerned.
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 There is still a great deal on my "bucket list," but I have put a
hearty dent in it over the past 50 years. My bucket list is not one
filled with death-defying feats of courage and bravery. I have no
intention of trying to climb Mount Everest or to jump out of an
airplane with a scrap of linen strapped to my back. I am certain
that my life will be complete without the need for freezing my
nether parts off on the side of the tallest mountain on Earth. And
why tempt fate by intentionally trying to have a heart attack
jumping into thin air just to see an unobstructed view from 30,000
feet? I have TV and a good imagination. I don't need to actually
experience that.
These things are not necessary for my sense of fulfillment. They
are actually on my list of things to try if I ever needed an
inventive way to kill myself. As long as I want to live another 50
years, I don't see myself consulting that list any time soon.
The question is: How shall I spend the next 50 years?
I will probably spend them the same way as the first 50: in a
blur of seasons, one after another, with birthdays, anniversaries,
holidays, vacations, productive and fulfilling endeavors, and
vomiting grandchildren. Of course, there will be new births, new
marriages, new places to go and new challenges for me to try.
The only difference between the last 50 years and the next 50
years is that I can't put a name to those future events yet. And
isn't that exciting?
[By LAURA SNYDER]
Laura Snyder is a nationally syndicated columnist,
author and speaker. You can reach her at
lsnyder@lauraonlife.com
or visit www.lauraonlife.com
for more info. |
