Fifty. Half a century. It’s something you get a clap for in cricket but in the context of age it sounds pretty old; heck, let’s not beat about the bush here, it is old.
Last month the big day finally arrived. I had the most wonderful time celebrating with family and friends and was truly humbled by the number of people who took the time to wish me well.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth, oh, never mind
Mary Schmich
You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth
Until they’ve faded, but trust me, in 20 years, you’ll look back
At photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now
How much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked
You are not as fat as you imagine
I’m not going to lie though, of all the “milestone” birthdays I’ve had the prospect of reaching this one hit the hardest. I’m not sure why exactly; maybe it’s because even at the ripe old age of 49 I could just about convince myself that I was still classed (in my mind at least) as young.
Of course, other than having a new race category being 50 isn’t really any different to being 49. There’s a world of truth in the saying that age is just a number and you’re as young as you feel. Hopefully it doesn’t mean I have to grow up any time soon because I’m just not ready for that shit yet.
The past ten years have shot by, and the ten before that. I think having kids exacerbates the feeling of time slipping through your fingers. I’ve changed in that time, hopefully for the better, and I’ve finally started to discover and understand my true self. My one constant throughout this time though has been my family and my close friends.
Most notably I am fitter now than I was ten years ago. Forty year old me would not have gone for a quick run on their birthday, nor done a 25KM trail run the day after. I am so grateful to be in a position to do that. I am also delighted to have been able to run the London Marathon in my fiftieth year, as that has been on my bucket list for ages.
I would love to say I have massive amounts of profound and useful advice to impart but I don’t. I’ll leave that to Baz Luhrmann in “Everybody’s Free”.
