Today, October 28th I am fifty years old. That is half of a hundred. The reality of the other side, not heaven, but the 50+ years is that I will most likely not see the end of the other fifty to make one hundred. If I do perhaps I will end up on the NBC’s Willard Scott section of the weather with my face on a Smucker’s Jelly jar logo for having weathered a hundred years or more. Who knows? But this I do know, today I am fifty. There are all sorts of cute jingles I could say, such as fifty is nifty. But I will refrain because I want the day to mean more than a jingle or two. Someone said to me this is a “milestone” day for you. I looked up milestone and it is defined as a stone marker set up on a roadside to indicate the distance in miles from a given point. Never thought of myself as a stone to be used in that fashion, but maybe that’s good. It might be good for all us older crowd to be used as a marker of life to what it has been and to show what it can be. I know there are other stones out there much older and more set in their ways who are full of wisdom, but here’s my attempt. Don’t wait until your fifty to begin to see what you should have done or could have done with your life. I don’t want to make this some mushy philosophical wordy sort of think so in the words of that famous philosopher ‘Nike” ,,, just do it. Take a hold of life and live it. Don’t waste your life! (Read John Piper’s book … “Don’t Waste Your Life”)
I have been asked what does it feel like to be fifty? Not a whole lot different than what I was feeling like last night at 49. Am I older?, yes … am I wiser?, no … am I falling apart?, yes and no … can I do what I use to do at 25?, yes and no … am I enjoying life today, yes! Well just so both of us know, fifty is by no means the end. I like the episode of Gilligan’s Island where the professor says, “We might be here the rest of our lives!” Gilligan’s reponse is, “Unless we die first.” So fifty is not the end, unless of course I die at fifty, and I am not given that insight. But I am not going to sit around and wonder, but rather get out and live with my family.
I am a blessed fifty year old man who has a wife who loves me, and I love her and we have three great boyz. With the exception of flying to the moon, which I really have no desire to do, I am getting to do most of what I like to do and want to do, with a few rare exceptions (not the moon). I would enjoy taking my boyz on an up North fishing, hunting, camping outing for a week or two. They are growing older and will soon be out of the house. It would be a blast to do something like that with them. Maybe I should take my own advise and “just do it.” I will work on it.
I have a desire to grow and eat my own grapes. Sound weird? Maybe so, but I love the analogy of the grapevine and the production of life. It is a sweet reminder that I cannot do this life on my own. I love reading in the gospel of John where Jesus speaks of the grapevine life … there is the “vine” and the “branches” that produce the fruit(s) of life. He is the “Vine” and I am a branch looking to produce what fruit is possible with His assistance. So I have two grape vines planted in my backyard, thanks to my friend George. I now need to built a grape arbor of sorts for them to climb and produce on. It might be a couple years before I see and enjoy the fruit of the vine, but then I am only fifty and can wait around for the production years of the grapevines and then to sit and eat of the sweetness of the vine.
Today I am fifty … it sounds pretty neat. I am easing into this day as it is my day off. Not doing a whole lot … took my dog to the vet for a shot and a shower … having lunch with Sam, my 7th grade son, and will later go to the Camdenton football game tonight with my family and eat some carrot cake later tonight that my wife is making and baking for me at the moment. Another weird thing … feel like smoking a big fat cigar to celebrate this milestone event in my l life. I don’t smoke at all, other than an occasional temper flare up, but I smelled a good dog turd (cigar) the other day and thought, yeah, I want to smoke a cigar (see-gar) when I turn fifty. So I will, or so I think. One thing is forsure, my lovely wife will make me “smoke” outside!
Well enough for the blog today on being fifty. I will let you know later of my being fifty, after all I have 364 days to experience being 50! Oh yes, and I will let you know about the cigar smoking experience. Cough, cough! Hey Bob what’s writing! Peace out!
