Friday, January 7, 2011

I knew this day would come

So ... today is my 59th birthday!  How did I get here and why is this bothering me?  When I turned 25, I freaked out.  I told everyone that I would be 24 for a year and a half and then jump straight to 26.  But, for legal purposes, my age had to be revealed as 25.  I hated it ... quarter of a century.  YIKES!

But it passed, and I survived.  Birthdays of note came and went ... 30, 35, 40, 45, even 50 ... I wore them like a badge of honor. When the big milestones (40 and 50) came, I had a specific person to honor; someone who died just short of making that specific birthday.  With 40, it was a neighbor, Zella, who didn't have the privilege of living that long.  Even tougher was my friend Carolyn, who died before she made 50.  In a year, when it is my 60th birthday, I'll honor the best friend I've ever had, Jayne.  She died too young and left such a void in my life.  But, that's a year away and I still have a year to prepare for that.

Perhaps this aversion to 60 began simmering a while ago.  But it came to a full rolling boil when I recently watched an Oprah re-run with Raquel Welch as the guest.  In Raquel's words, she considered birth to 29 as Act I of your life ... 30 to 59 as Act II ... and 60 on as your Final Act.  SERIOUSLY ???  I'm entering the final act of my life.

So with that said, I guess I really need to make this Final Act count.  Otherwise, the critics will have a field day when they write my review.  I'm going to make this year my "practice year" and have fun.  Don't anticipate me going totally wild ... that's not my nature.  But I do plan to start enjoying everything more.  Join me as I begin preparing for my Final Act.

Bunches!
Nona

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