Hey, Universe, 12 Thank Yous For 50

July 3, 2010

I have a friend who turned 50 this year. So do I. She says we shouldn’t meet because she’s sure she’ll be more successful at dragging me down than I could be at pulling her up.

Either she’s wrong, but that doesn’t happen a lot, or I’ve had too much caffeine, but I believe I’d win. I’m not sad, scared, or even neutral about 50. Thrilled would be a better word.

My friend feels she’s not where she thought she would be at this time in her life. Neither am I, but that’s not the same as failure. It’s a different path, not a loser path. Maybe it’s taking longer to get to somewhere better.

Thank you

…for making me a woman at this moment in the history of time, and in this place.

…for knowing that if someone doesn’t like my lines and age spots, they’re the ones with the problem, not me.

…for having given me 50 years worth of tools to use in the next 50. Tools provided by failures, rejections, embarrassments, and self-disgust because they sharpened the grit that shaped something better.

…for not having granted the wishes I had at 30. Instead, you gave me so many more possibilities that I’m having trouble choosing.

…for knowing enough to trust you and stop worrying about the long term. Or worry a lot less.

…for knowing that exercise is the daily celebration of a body that can do things.

…for repelling the marketing that tries to persuade us that aging is a problem we need to address.

…for repelling the marketing that tries to tell me that I should emulate a famous person. I have no celebrity addiction affliction addiction.

…for having seen the advent of Copy & Paste when I could still use it, and watched Click The Link open the world for me and my children.

…for sticking out my relationship long enough to watch the balance of power shift … to me!! I was talking about emotions 10 years ago and he didn’t understand. Now I’m saying “Pass me that calculator, would you?”

…for knowing that a day with 5 mistakes is a good day. At the time, it’s a little uncomfortable. 3 of those times, you’ll get your face ground in the dust. 1 time will pay off but you’ll have to wait a year to see it. 1 time, you’ll learn and become more than you were before the mistake, right there on the spot. Extra mistakes are bonus.

…for knowing that my best self is in the now, not somewhere in the years before. At 25, we’re a pretty storefront but haven’t figured out what to put on the shelves. At 50, I know exactly what’s on the shelves and I know that the inventory will only get better.

And to think that 2 years ago, I wrote “Hey, Universe, Are You Ignoring Me?”

We all start somewhere.

Posted by Christine Scaman | Filed Under Happiness

Comments

4 Responses to “Hey, Universe, 12 Thank Yous For 50”

maria meylan on July 4th, 2010 4:50 am

Great stuff, Christine! And, Happy Birthday, whenever it is/was! I will share with with my friends and daugther.
Glenda on July 4th, 2010 7:34 pm

Well congratulations ~ I agree with so much on your list ~ but Christine, my dear, who is “Universe”? How can you thank a non-sensient entity for such personal gifts? Obviously someONE is pouring them out on you.
Christine Scaman on July 11th, 2010 3:32 pm

Thank you, Maria and Glenda.
Glenda, we obviously have a different Creator picture
gina on July 13th, 2010 3:38 pm

50 meh! It really only does get better says the 51 year-old. I am more fit, certainly wiser, and like myself waaaaay more than I did 25 years ago. Hot flashes and sleepless nights included!
Just went to my father’s 90th birthday celebration and as I marveled at all the women around me (there truly are lots more of us than there are men) it struck me these ladies are incredible! I will be one, considering longevity is in the genes, and I look forward to it. I will advise my daughters and grand daughters and great granddaughters, if I am fortunate enough to have them, of all the possibilities …think what the world will hold for them and me Strong clear thinking women. Empowered and incredible.
Thanks for all you do my dear friend. You make me realize, EVERY time I read your entries, just how grand our lives have become and will become. heartfelt thanks!