Friday, October 30, 2009

Turning 50...It's A Numbers Game!

Well at some point in our lives we all see the big one, the five-oh (ouch)! Yes, and to my surprise my wife did just that! She gave me an awesome surprise 50th birthday bash. A party complete, with catered food, drinks, more drinks and a room full of the most wonderful people you will ever meet...my family and friends!When you reach this milestone you don't look as much to what you can do in the future, but to what you've done in the past. The one thing I've learned about life is that it's just a game of numbers. It becomes clearer when you near age 50. Doctors are now concerned about the numbers on the scale, the numbers when taking your blood pressure, your cholesterol numbers, your HDL and LDL numbers, your blood sugar level numbers, your A1C levels, etc.This is also the time that the doctors tell you that you need exams for everything that you thought was working just fine, thank you! You want to put your camera where???At my surprise party I watched a slide presentation of my life from birth till now. And thought about all those number of years. Did I do anything that may have left some sort of impression on this world we live in? Was I an asset to society? Or maybe a burden? I've never been rich, never famous, I never invented anything! But, I thought about those darn numbers that just kept growing as I did. There I was as a baby all wrinkly, cute and black and white. They didn't have color photos, they had color portraits. Color portraits looked just like a black and white photo someone added some color to. My first milestone had to be going to school about 6 years old, the double-digit years came next when you go from a number 9 to a 10! What number was I looking for next the unluckiest number 13! There's something about going from 12 to 13 that makes you feel just a little bit cocky, you are a teenager. What could possibly be next the number 16! All the time your waiting to drive you drive your parents crazy! Next up 18! This age was a bad/good age to be. When I was 18 you were old enough to vote, old enough to drink in our neighboring state, Illinois, but sadly you were also old enough to be drafted and serve our country and maybe lose your life. Fortunately, for myself and friends registration ended just about the time we were turning 18. Then becoming of legal age...21! A time you could order drinks legally take on more responsibilities and feel like a real adult! The first big birthday you were waiting for.But what happened next? More years went by the number grew out of control and before you knew it you were hitting another benchmark 30! What happened? From looking forward to birthdays and now wondering, how is this happening so fast? No, no, I don't want black balloons!Not FORTY! Yes, another 10 years go by and you are the BIG FOUR-O! This is the time you kick back have some drinks and fun with your friends and think I got a big future ahead of me, I might still be famous, invent something and become a millionaire. Then like a snake slithering through the woods and the snake bites and you realize...what I'm 50! Shut up! There ain't no way that could be!So here I sit today anticipating the 5-0, I've heard the rustle of leaves as the snake slithers closer and closer. All I can do now is look back on the past and count my blessings. Did I invent anything? No. Am I famous? No. Am I rich? Yes, I am rich with the love of family and friends who helped me through this trying time of just another double digit number FIVE-O.

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