50
Josh turned 50 recently. For his 40th birthday, we got together our friends and family for a massive all-day volunteer project downtown, repainting and repairing a building. In the summer, we went to London, which is what we’ve done to kickoff every decade.
This year had to be a quieter, COVID-cognizant affair — his second pandemic birthday since his 48th birthday was our last time going out before the shutdown — but we’re considering whether we can keep on schedule and slip away to the UK this summer. It will need to look different from how we originally planned it years ago. We asked the kids if they’d be okay doing only takeaway in the hotel room or wearing a mask if everyone else around them was mask-less. I think we’re okay with it. Maybe. It’s so hard to know.
But I do know that 50 sounds old. It sounded very far away at one point, and now it’s here. And we don’t feel old. We don’t feel 50, or however we imagined 50 feeling. I still have time, so perhaps 50ness will kick in as I get closer. But as of right now, it feels like everything is just starting. We’re still so young.
Happiest birthday, Josh.
5 comments
I’ve been 50 for a while. I am unimpressed with how old I look now. :/ In my head, I’m at most 25.
Happy Birthday, Josh! I hope you get your UK trip this year!
I have found that to be one of the most startling things about getting old. Is that I don’t feel old. I always assumed that old people – – back when I was a kid and a young adult “old” was much younger than I am now – – felt old. Elderly people especially. Like somehow you are just resigned to it. Well here I am past 50 and I definitely do not feel like I expected to.
Happy Birthday to Josh!
I turned 50 in March 2021, and all of my plans to celebrate got scrapped because of Covid. The only thing I did was a dinner out with my family, which was enjoyable not nearly special enough to mark a big milestone birthday IMO.
I will be 51 in a few weeks. Hmmph.
Happy birthday to Josh!
I didn’t like turning 50 at all. Suddenly it is an age that sounds old, rather than feels old. But now the next big number is looming for me, and that sounds worse, but I still feel the same as I did when I turned 30! (Which also sounded old to my tender young ears at the time. lol) But as I found out in my 40s, getting older gives some freedom. Of thought. Of expectation. Of wisdom. It isn’t so bad.
I hope you get to travel this year. Who knows what the next few months might bring. Sigh. Self-catering accommodation would be perfect for you – UK supermarkets/shopping centres etc are well set up for heat-up only meals, take-away options, etc. As I love self-drive holidays, I love having picnics when we travel too. Lots of ways you can avoid the crowds of restaurants etc.
Happy birthday to Josh! 🙂 From my vantage point of 61, 50 sounds pretty good to me, lol. But yeah, it was kind of daunting to hit that mark. And to realize how many years have actually passed since I was in high school, etc. Yikes! Fingers crossed that your UK trip comes together. My cousin, his wife and a couple of friends went there over Christmas/New Year’s (and then on to visit a friend in Finland!) and they had a blast. They said they felt very safe — but they’re a little more adventurous than I am right now, and I think the UK has removed more restrictions since then. But I think if you plan ahead & wear your masks, etc., you’ll probably do just fine.