Two Years Shy of Fifty

Birthdays give us the opportunity to reminisce about the past and contemplate the future.

JING SAYS...

I was interviewing a businessman over the phone yesterday, and by the sound of his voice and the excitement of his tone, you'd think he was a young man in his twenties. He wasn't. He is 68 years old, but it sounded like everyone else knew it except him!

This is one of the great things about my job, I get to meet all sorts of passionate people, fueling my own appetite for life. He asks me, "So how old are you?"

I tell him that I'm turning 48, and he says immediately, "Oh, but you are so young! What are you going to do next?"

What am I going to do next?

In my twenties, I was the first among my friends to get pregnant. While everybody else was dating, I was taking care of my babies. When they started getting married, my eldest was starting her first day in big school. I remember my dear friend Meg saying that I was always doing things ahead of everyone else. And true enough, I became a grandmother in my forties. 

Today, my kids are just about finished in school, and I have all sorts of mad plans. I want to learn how to code. I want to take up online courses. I want to sleep, sleep, sleep. I want to travel. I want to write books. I want to read, read, read. I want to learn how to play the guitar. I want to clean my room, as in really clean my room. I want to stay at home and daydream the day away. I want to bake a cake. I want to grow my own food!

And I'm just getting started! Mwahahaha

You know what's so weird? I am two years shy of fifty, but I feel so young, finally! Happy birthday to me! :)