The Golden Years

Here I sit, 8 days away from the first day of the last year of my 50s? I've been contemplating this. I have only recently remembered that these were my "golden years" - as that term has always seemed years away to me. So, what are the golden years anyway? Is it just the 10 years that we're in our 50s? Or, is it every year after 50?

If it's only the 50s, then what are our 60-s? Our silver years? Tin, perhaps?

Everyone who is in these years knows this - we don't feel that old. Tell me, I'm right, aren't I? Our hair is getting thinner and whiter, I'm told our faces shrink or noses get larger, or some such thing. Our hearing is going, and I'm really squinting at this screen right now. We're replacing joints or just repairing them and trying different things to make us feel better, younger, more relevant. But in our heads, we feel the same. We still have the same habits, the same memories, the same personalities as we did when we were younger. Our brains are getting older, but we're also so much more seasoned, if you will. We have all the wisdom that comes with just being alive this long.

We also have many of the same fears that we had as children, whether it was spiders, or those harmless flying monkeys in "The Wizard of Oz" that so many of my friends seem to be afraid of. Oh, and our mortality is often at the forefront of our thinking. We know life happens fast and that it can be fleeting.

I don't know about you, but I have more I want to experience. So, with this in mind, as I approach this last year before my big six-oh, I vow to stay active, to stop putting my sweet tooth ahead of my waistline and to read more, write more and pay attention to the things that matter. I will cultivate my relationships and live generously and thankfully.

I will complain less, spend less and be gracious and grateful. I will do the things that need to be done, like getting my finances pinned down, estate planning and cleaning out the junk in my closets and drawers.

If I haven't told my friends, co-workers, family members and general acquaintances lately - you all matter. Ah shucks, I love you guys.