This is 50!

Well 2023 has come and gone and like most, I’ve reflected on what went well and what didn’t. The reality, I had no major complaints about the year even though it was wrapped with both good and challenging times. Some great things happened; our daughter graduated high school and began her first year in college (she’s doing great, by the way), our son and daughter-in-law announced they were pregnant with their third child, and my husband and I both turned 50 years young!! All in all it was a good year.

Turning 50 was surreal for me. If you’ve kept up (even though I haven’t been posting consistently), you know I lost both my parents within a span of about 16 months from late 2020 to early 2022. Those years were a complete blur to me and I realized I was nearly swallowed up be grief, disappointment, and many other emotions. I had to literally fight to get back on my feet and it was not easy. There were times I felt I wasn’t going to make it through but yet, I did, and I am so thankful I did. I turned 50 with such a grateful heart of where I am and who I am still becoming.

At 50 I thought I would know exactly who I was and what I was doing but when my birthday rolled around, I realized I was still evolving into who I am and learning new things about how my heavenly father created me. I stepped into a new role, both in serving at my church and in my professional career. Both were very new for me but quickly became things I developed a great passion for. I discovered I have a creative side of me that I had decided wasn’t “good enough” to explore in the past. Side Note: Be careful of people in your life that tell you if you are in one lane, you can never cross over. It’s not true! You can be organized AND creative, you can be a leader AND a follower, you can be business minded AND compassionate and empathetic. So, I began to explore all things that even remotely interested me.

I began to learn piano at 50! I began to explore singing at 50 (don’t worry, I will not be releasing an album any time soon)! I began writing creatively at 50! I began college a little before 50! And I’m sticking with it!! I’m discovering a whole new side of myself that doesn’t listen to what others say about being too old or too young or too whatever! It’s freeing!! It’s seriously like, “I think I’ll try this, the worst I can do is fail.” As my husband and I entered empty nest life, it wasn’t sad or lonely, it was like limitless doors opened for us to find creative ways to spend time together and fall in love all over again. It’s been a BLAST!! I mean I miss our daughter and we still spend lots of time together as a family, but we are ENJOYING our empty nest life too!

Getting older is a gift, it’s an adventure and I’m grateful to God that I’ve had the privilege to experience the last 50 years and I pray I get another 50+ to continue learning, growing and becoming all that He intended for me to be. I pray that for you as well, that you would embrace who you are and where you are but not settling in too much either. I pray you would find opportunities to grow and challenge yourself in the best ways! Here’s to 2024 and all that it holds for all of us!! Happy New Year and this is 50!!