50??? How did that happen???

A couple weeks ago I turned 50.  I thought I'd sit down and blog about it as soon as it happened.  But I forgot.  You will see that as a theme from now on I'm afraid!  Actually, it was pretty painless.  And in some ways, it was pretty delightful.  For example, a few days before I turned 50 several of my very dearest friends celebrated with me at a local tea room.  It was so fun to look around the table and think about how each of these friends became so dear to me.  Mandi, I met when she was 3 and I was helping teach her Sunday school class.  Her mom Susan, I met a few years later in a small group at church.  She was actually in the room with us when Harrison was born...and several years later Harrison was in Mandi's wedding.  Kela, JJ, and Kari I met when our kids were all in Sonshine School together.  Kristin and I became good friend when we were pregnant with our teenagers and we have shared many milestones together.  Merlene and I met when we were homeroom moms together in 1st grade (for the now teenagers).  Christine, Jenni and Robin I all met through Harrison's friendships with their kiddos.  And Jill is my sweet neighbor.  Most of us have laughed together, cried together, shared parenting advice, and so much more.  When my mom died three years ago, Christine was with us.  Within a couple of hours Jill had lunch at our house and Merlene had brought dinner.  And when I walked out at my mom's funeral, there sat several of these friends who had driven 150 miles to support me.  I am blessed!!!

Then, Tuesday night, Joe walked in the house....followed by my sweet friend Christi who had flown in from San Antonio to surprise me!  What a wonderful surprise!  Sometimes you just need some girl time with one of your besties!  Some yummy food, a couple of glasses of wine, and a little shopping....perfect time with my friend.  What a blessing to have Christi fly up for 24 hours just to make my day special.  I have the best friends!!!

And then, dinner with my family at my favorite Japanese hibachi restaurant.  Sometimes I look at my little family and I'm amazed at what God has done in my life! 

Now, I have to say, that 50 brings several kind of realizations.  There are the usual things like wrinkles, sagging, aches and pains.  But I had to kind of giggle at some of the other things.  Here are a few things I've picked up on lately...

 - When you are 50 and you have a kindergartener, you are just fine with watching the younger, first time moms sign up for everything. 
 - At 50....it is not a good idea to keep your foot cream and hair pomade in the same location....you might get them confused one day....just sayin! 
 - When you are 50 you get a lot more "well bless your heart" comments.  Like the girl at bootcamp who was whining about how she was too old for all this (I might add she weighs like 90 pounds).  I asked how old she was, she said 38.  I told her I'm 50.  She said "well, I have 3 kids"...(hear the WAAAAHHH! in my voice)...well, I have a kindergartener.  Wait for it...."Oh, bless you heart!  I thought I was old when I had my last one!"  I just smiled.  Or the lady at the Clinique counter who complimented my haircut and asked if I had always worn it short.  I told her that I had let it grow, thinking I'd leave it long until I turned 50 but actually cut it a few months early.  She said "You're 50?  Do you have kids?"  I give her the low down....a 15 year old and a 6 year old.  Wait for it...."Oh!  Bless your heart!  That must be what keeps you so young." 
 - My "max weight limit" changes everytime I hit a milestone birthday.  It's very liberating!  : )
 - One day I put on a new necklace and think to myself "before I wear this again I need to change the charms around so it clasps the other way" (it was set up for a leftie).  Then the next day I put the necklace on I think "before I wear this again I need to change the charms around so it clasps the other way".  A couple days later I put the necklace on and I think "before I wear this again I need to change the charms around so it clasps the other way."  Geez!
 - You dress your child cute for picture day at school.  And it never even crosses your mind to fill out the form and send a check....kind of like you've never done this before. 
 - Last weekend I was texting a friend in Nebraska during the Nebraska game.  She mentioned something about a missed extra point because she knows the kicker.  I was thinking to myself, "how did I miss that...I thought I was paying attention."  So I don't say anything.  Then about 15 minutes later I realize we had DVR'd the game and started it about 45 minutes late so we were not even seeing the same plays while we were texting.  DERRR!

                        In honor of my 50th birthday, I'll post a few pictures from my younger days. 
                                   This is my brother Kim and I at my grandparents farm back in 1964

               My favorite picture with my brother (the church in the back ground was where my dad was pastor).

                              Ahhhh!  The 70's!  I was probably 13 or 14 here.  We were big stuff!!!

At 50, I'd have to say you might as well have a sense of humor about yourself.  And the best part is, if you do something embarrassing, there's a good chance you won't even remember tomorrow!  Life is good!!!