Turning 50 is a reality check

Today is my birthday.  I am usually not one to even acknowledge my birthday on my blog but this is a big one, the big 50!  And because it is a big one I have been thinking a lot about it.  I need  to make some changes in my life so the next 50 years are ones of health and happiness.

Since Little Buddy came to live with us I have really not been taking as good of care of myself.  My exercising routine has almost disappeared, I need to get better about that.  A few weeks ago I started walking again, I was only able to do it on the weekends before, but now I get up on my days off and get moving right away.  I simply hand my husband the baby monitor and say I will see you after I put in a few miles.  I am not giving him an option, if he gets to work out so do I.  Not moving is going to do me a lot of damage, and I can not afford that with a three year old.  You can be thin and out of shape, I need to get better at taking care of myself.  In all honesty I do not want to end up like my Mom, for reasons we do not understand she stopped moving, and her health got worse but she hung on for years.  I need to start being fit now so I can stay active and alert as I age.

Here is another reality check, I need to stay out of the sun.  I have loved the sun for many of these last fifty years, the damage is done now, but I do not need to add to it.   While the pictures of Little Buddy and I at his adoption look great, the reality is that the lighting did me a big favor, you see I have deep wrinkles and sun spots.  I don't need to add to my risk of skin cancer.  This is what you see.

 

But this is more of the reality, now I have to say that I don't love my wrinkles but I am proud of them.  They tell the story of my life, and believe me it has not all been easy.  There have been lots and lots of issues that make me who I am, sometimes these issues made me stressed and other times they made me laugh.  One of my best friends just got here eyes done, botox and her neck lifted.  I say good for her if she is brave enough to do that, it is not for me, my face has a story, it may not always be a pretty story, but it is my story.  The one thing I just loved about my MIL was her wrinkles, they made her so beautiful in a way that was so special, they showed that she had lived a long and fantastic life.

This is my yarn stash.  I am coming clean about it because I own a lot of yarn.

It is located in three different areas of my house, two places in my craft studio/office and even in my closet.

Now I know my stash pales in comparison to some of yours, but I feel like I need to get a handle on it.  And I intend to squelch my yarn purchases very soon.  Actually I was going to put myself on some yarn restrictions starting today, but then yesterday I found out that my favorite yarn store in Tampa is going out of business.  I am devastated.  They are tearing down the strip mall where it is located and the lovely Caroline who owns it does not want to move to another location, she has already done that once.  So there is a yarn sale going on now to get rid of her inventory.  Little Buddy and I drove over today to get some yarn to make presents for his therapists for Christmas.  I restrained myself but still bought some,  and now frankly I am wishing I had bought some more.  She will be open until the end of July and then it will be gone forever.  I am sure I will be back before then, and then I will start my yarn restrictions.

  

Last weekend I made my husband go out and buy a new mattress.  I am turning fifty and I do not want to wake up with my back hurting anymore.  Our mattress was embarrassingly old, I mean really, really old.  It was high time to get that taken care of, our new one got delivered on Tuesday and I am already loving it.  Who knew that a mattress was supposed to support your back?   

I am not one to whine about my birthday or turning older.  When I was 35 I fought cancer and won, so to me every birthday is a special gift.  Every year I can be here and experience this life is a blessing.  A few years ago I lost two friends in their 40's to cancer, and this year alone has been rough with all the deaths we have had to those so close to us.  The next fifty years I want to be in shape and engaged in my life.  I want to be grateful and feel blessed by the wonderful life I have been given.  That is how I want to feel about turning 50.

Have a great weekend..