Yesterday I turned 50. I have been setting such high expectations for this milestone birthday. My other milestone birthdays have just been like any other days. When I turned 21, I didn't have any friends nearby to go to bars. Instead, my best friend's parents fixed me dinner and took me out to the local watering hole for my first legal drink. 30 was just plain awful. I literally could not say the word, instead I turned 20-10. Seriously...and that's all I have to say about that. 40 was better than 30 (it would have to be), but I was still mentally and emotionally recovering from a miscarriage earlier in the year. I have no idea what I did that day. 40 turned out to be a pretty good year for me as that was the year that Delainey was born. In my mind, I deserved to have an memorable 50th.
I started comparing my turning 50 to other people turning 50. I know people who had huge parties, others who went to fancy events, and still others who went on grand vacations to celebrate. I thought that was what I wanted. But then I realised, that truly isn't me. I don't want a party where I am the center of attention. I am not a fancy person...I would have to buy a new outfit for a fancy occasion. And a grand vacation isn't in our budget this year. And that's when I realised that the important thing for me about turning 50 was to be able to spend time with my family. So that's what we did.
I had a marvelous day! I woke up and did some laundry. I fixed breakfast for my family. And then like a herd of turtles, we were off! We spent the day at Lincoln State Park. We stopped and bought some groceries for the day...ham, cheese, fruit, snacks, and drinks. As we stopped by the picnic area, we spotted a doe and her fawn, just watching from the edge of the woods. Then we headed out for our hike. It wasn't a long or hard hike, just under 2 miles, but this out of shape family enjoyed the walk. Jim decided to climb to the top of the fire tower while D and I cheered him on from the bench. By the time we got back to the car, we decided to take a drive around the park with the AC on to cool off.
Jim brought his fishing gear, so he set off for a little quiet time to find a good fishing hole! Jim loves to fish and doesn't do it nearly often enough. D and I changed into our swimsuits and went to the beach area for some swim time. D loved it. She had a chance to practice some of her new moves that she has been learning at swim lessons. The water was cool, but after our hike, it felt heavenly. I am more of a wader in lake water, so that's what I did. D and I found some small shells to add to our family collection of shells. After a quick shower and change, we found Jim and decided to visit the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial.
The Memorial was a nice place. We went in backwards and were tired, so it didn't seem cohesive to us. After visiting the actual visitor center last, what we saw made more sense. The state park has a very cool plaza that would, in my mind, fit in better at the national memorial, but who I am to judge! D did get sworn in as a junior ranger after she completed an activity booklet about Lincoln. It was a quick trip for us, but had we not been tired, would have been more interesting.
We had dinner in Santa Claus, IN (Frosty's...good food and free mini-golf) and headed for home...the Predmore way, off the beaten path. Jim programed our GPS for the shortest distance, which always takes us the winding, interesting way. We drove through Ferdinand, which has a monastery and some pretty cool architecture. We have decided that it could be worth a visit some day. We continued down country roads that twisted and turned, all the while watching to be sure no critters ran into the car (we missed a fox that ran out in front of us). We laughed and unwound from our day.
I turned 50 yesterday, and I did it my way. I didn't think about how other people celebrated. I didn't worry about what others would think. That's how I hope to live out the next year. I want to spend my time not worrying what others think. I want to enjoy my family not comparing us to other families. And above all else, I want to live my life pleasing God.
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