Yesterday I turned fifty years old.

For the last month I have anticipated this miles stone with part dread and part excitement. To me, the fifties are a transition decade. Gone is your youth but you are by no means considered old. I guess it truly is middle age!

I woke up on my birthday pondering my life so far. How did I feel about this new decade? How did I feel about the previous decades?

In my twenties, life was one big adventure. I lived in the present, barely planning past the next weekend. There was no thought given to the future, it was all about embracing the now. I learned about love, commitment and about becoming a mother. Life was vibrant and alive.

Reality struck in my thirties and I did not take it lying down. How could I be a responsible adult when I still didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up! Still, I became accountable for raising amazing children, contributing to a household, and being a decent member of my community, all the pressures of establishing a place in society.

In my forties I felt empowered, I was in my prime. The kids were almost grown. The financial pressures  began to ease and freedom was once again opening up for me. My husband and I began to re-establish ourselves as a couple instead of just parents and the world awaited us as we started to travel.

So now I am starting the fifties decade. Some wisdom I have already gained is that even though I am currently healthy, good health is no longer a given, bi-focal’s are my friend and so is an e-reader  that can magnify the font from small to large for that matter and given the choice between comfort or style, comfort will win every time.

But what I also realized is that like my twenties, I am tending to live my life in the present once again. It really is all about embracing the now. Of course I have goals and dreams that I hope to accomplish but enjoying each day and the simple pleasures that they hold is really what it’s all about for me now.

What do I look forward to in the next ten years? I look forward to traveling more, learning more, staying healthy, keeping myself open to love and maybe, if I’m really lucky, becoming a grandmother.

So after all this pondering,  how to do I really feel about being in my fifties? I say bring it on!