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Barb.b
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I am fine with turning 50 soon - really. But it is just - weird,for lack of a better word. Not sad, depressing or anything - just weird!
Barb
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guitarnan
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I am 49. Yes, it feels weird. But...Kirstie Alley lost 100 pounds at age 60, so I figure I can do almost anything I set my mind to, as long as it's within God's plan for my life!
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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Angie Mc
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Barb...I'm pretty sure I'm getting close to 50  . I sorta don't keep track.
It does seem surreal, but as I inch toward it, not as painful to me as turning 40 and facing the end of childbearing years.
Love,
__________________
Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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stacykay
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I'm 48 and 1/2.  I do find myself thinking about the *50* number!! But, like you, I'm not fearful or anything, and yes, it is weird.
My oldest sister is turning 64 this December. She has the most ominous pronouncements about turning 50. But then, she does about most things (she's a glass half-empty kinda gal. )
This will sound incredibly silly, but I am so determined not to arrive at 50 with the same complaints as she! I am going all-out on becoming more healthy. Per my sis, "Once you hit 50, everything just falls apart!"
And I don't mean I am trying to recapture 20, or even 30, or 40...I just want to be as healthy as I can be for me and my boys. My youngest is only 7, and as you all know, these kiddos require lots of energy. That's where I'm coming from on that.
But back to the weirdness of it. I am, more and more, understanding the statement that "youth is wasted on the wrong people!" (I just love that scene in "It's a Wonderful Life," where the old man tells that to George Bailey." And I am also enjoying the "wisdom that comes with age."
I'm finding it all interesting!
In Christ,
Stacy in MI
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florasita
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I don't know if anyone is coming to this over 40 meeting area any longer
did we all burn out lol
Barb I am going to turn 49yo next month .
love love aging , I love being granny .Our grandson is 5yo now !
I do long for more grand children soon too I hope !
the thing I am not liking with this aging is I am not ending my cycle ! at all !
regular every 28 days as when I was 15yo and got my period .
So I find it extremely frustrating . I even got hot flashes a few times but then , nope . there is that cycle again .
I almost feel ripped off ! I hate to say it but , why not concieve then ? I mean what on earth is the point of a soon to be 50yo having menstruation ?
I would love and welcome another baby if we were to concieve . but really I'm in granny mode .I'm tired after I have our grandson for a sleepover .I'm content with our life with older children. It seems it is the next faze for us.
I feel selfish almost complaining about having my cycle when many women struggle later in life to concieve .I feel guilty for not wanting more babes now . We miscarried so many times and I'd love to have all those babes here growing up having 16 children would be wonderful . Yet now , to concieve , carry and be new mum again .it would be tiresome .I was tired when I had Pascal at 38yo .I can remember coming here and asking prayer requests we could have more lol . now I'm ready to let our children become parents .
Yet I guess trust is the key word here . If God made me this way then that is that . if He wants me to concieve later then so be it .
off to bed now
__________________
May I rise & rest with words of Gratitude on my Breath
May I have the Heart & Mind of a Child in my Depth
May I forever remember to be a Light
May Peace Love & Hope be My Sight
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stellamaris
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I'm OVER 50...54! And I feel as if I'm just getting started on life! Welcome to the "club"! 
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In Christ,
Caroline
Wife to  dh 30+ yrs,ds's 83,85,89,dd's 91,95,ds's 01,01,02,grammy to 4
Flowing Streams
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stacykay
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florasita wrote:
.... the thing I am not liking with this aging is I am not ending my cycle ! at all !
regular every 28 days as when I was 15yo and got my period .
So I find it extremely frustrating . I even got hot flashes a few times but then , nope . there is that cycle again .
I almost feel ripped off ! I hate to say it but , why not concieve then ? I mean what on earth is the point of a soon to be 50yo having menstruation ?
I would love and welcome another baby if we were to concieve . but really I'm in granny mode .I'm tired after I have our grandson for a sleepover .I'm content with our life with older children. It seems it is the next faze for us.
I feel selfish almost complaining about having my cycle when many women struggle later in life to concieve .I feel guilty for not wanting more babes now . We miscarried so many times and I'd love to have all those babes here growing up having 16 children would be wonderful . Yet now , to concieve , carry and be new mum again .it would be tiresome .I was tired when I had Pascal at 38yo .I can remember coming here and asking prayer requests we could have more lol . now I'm ready to let our children become parents .
Yet I guess trust is the key word here . If God made me this way then that is that . if He wants me to concieve later then so be it .
off to bed now |
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Yes!  I am feeling all of the things you have described. My wacky cycles, most of which keep me house-bound for a day or two on those terribly heavy days (sorry if tmi!) are sooo frustrating!
I am ready for grandchildren, but my oldest ds isn't even dating (although he wants to be!,) and my 21yods (who has a girlfriend, albeit long-distance) isn't ready to marry...he has years of school ahead of him.
I feel so blessed to still have a "youngish" son (7 1/2 now!)
I'm loving this age, even with 49 creeping up in a few months (March.)
In Christ,
Stacy
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Angie Mc
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Hey Roxie!
What I love about this particular forum, is that while it isn't super active, I feel like there is a sisterhood here that has weathered many storms! We've built our life and now it swirls around us, leaving us less time to hang out and chat online. But it is so reassuring to know that we can pop in from time to time and "get it" with each other.
Hey...if we hang out together long enough, maybe we will see more time on our hands again in the future?! I'm pretty sure that's when we start making arrangements to go on cruises together  .
Love,
__________________
Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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stellamaris
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| Posted: Dec 10 2011 at 11:59am | IP Logged
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no kidding!
AngieMac wrote:
| that's when we start making arrangements to go on cruises together . |
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I'm ready!
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In Christ,
Caroline
Wife to dh 30+ yrs,ds's 83,85,89,dd's 91,95,ds's 01,01,02,grammy to 4
Flowing Streams
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mom2mpr
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Hey, I"m 48 1/2 too!!
I am pining for another little one as Christmas gets nearer and I remember so vividly nursing little ones to carols and lit trees--both my babes were born this time of year. Best presents I ever got! It doesn't help I hang with a younger crowd and it seems all of them are pregnant 
But it's OK. A priest recently told me on his birthday that after 50 is wonderful. Now, I know he doesn't have some of the issues we do but I commented on how impressed I am that he can still genuflect and I am sooo struggling with that. The knees aren't as young as they used to be and I did squat a lot with little ones for a few years.
I too am trying to get healthier, lose some pounds and take a little better care of myself. I don't have a lot more freedom but do have some with the kids being older. And that just feels nice to be able to focus a little more on me so I can age a little better.
And maturity. Oh my. Things that I'd get upset about 10 years ago just don't matter anymore. My faith has grown(just in time for teens )and for that I am ever so grateful.
It IS weird, but since I have gotten used to it I am trying to find the positives.
So glad you ladies are here with me!!!
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Anne, married to dh 16 years!, ds,(97), Little One (02), and dd (02).
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hylabrook1
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Wellll.... I'm pushing 58 (in January). You know, *old age* doesn't sound so *old* any more. I think of people who are *just a couple of years older than me* and see that they're pushing (gulp) 70. In the movie "It's a Wonderful LIfe", George's mother looks very matronly, but at some point she says she's something like 57 (don't remember exactly). For us baby boomers, those 50, 60, 70 kinds of numbers don't carry the same meaning as they did for past generations.
What I"m really enjoying about my *dotage* is that I am gaining so much perspective. All kinds of things that worried me or drove me crazy even a few years ago are much less vexing to me now. That opens the door for a new way of enjoying life, so lots of things are just more pleasurable.
Of course there are some adjustments and a bit of redefining who we are - especially about having more babies. Like all transitions, there is a sense of kind of losing one thing and not knowing what to hang onto. But God's plan for our lives doesn't end with the end of our cycles. There is so much room for our continued growth. It's always an adventure.
Peace,
Nancy
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Willa
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I'm 49.... I know what you mean about it being weird. But at the same time, while 40's seemed like an older young person, 50's seem like a very young old person. I know a lot of people in their second half century who are thriving, really enjoying their lives, so I'm looking forward to it in a way.
When I turned 48, it was a wakeup call -- I made a list of goals for what I wanted to get in motion by the time I was 50, and am slowly working towards them. That gives me some direction. I don't think I'll get to all of them in less than a year, but that's all right.
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AMDG
Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
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Barb.b
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Oh I like that -50's are like a young old person!
Except I need to look up a synonym for "old" - I just don't like that word!
Barb
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guitarnan
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Mature
Wise
Baby Boomer (anyone born before 1965 and after WWII)
More synonyms, anyone?
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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Spawnsmom
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I'll be 52 next month. Believe me, it's only a number. I don't feel much different than 42.
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St. Ann
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Willa wrote:
I'm 49.... I know what you mean about it being weird. But at the same time, while 40's seemed like an older young person, 50's seem like a very young old person. I know a lot of people in their second half century who are thriving, really enjoying their lives, so I'm looking forward to it in a way.
When I turned 48, it was a wakeup call -- I made a list of goals for what I wanted to get in motion by the time I was 50, and am slowly working towards them. That gives me some direction. I don't think I'll get to all of them in less than a year, but that's all right.
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I will be 49 in 1 month. I am really curious, Willa. What kind of goals are you talking about?
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Stephanie
Wife and mother to Hannah '96, Maria '99, Dorothea '01, Helena '03
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Willa
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Stephanie, I'll try to explain -- hopefully it doesn't sound too muddled.
As I approach age 50 I feel like I'm at a sort of vantage point, where I can look behind at what my life has been up till then and then look ahead to what I want the rest of my life to be about.
I have a composite in my mind of all the older people I know and what I most admire about them, especially how they handle aging and what they do with their middle and later years.
I started a journal about a year ago --specifically devoted to what I want to ponder as I approach fifty. what traits do I want my later years to be about? What are some goals that I haven't achieved yet that are still worth developing? What if I had only a year or so to live? What if I live to be 100? What is highest priority? What do I want to take with me into that stage of the journey? What do I want to discard (old sensitivities, hurts, outgrown habits)?
Many of my adult years were devoted to pregnancy, birth and babies/toddlers. My oldest is 25 and my youngest just turned 8, so it's only in the last 4-5 years that my life hasn't been largely ruled by the needs of the youngsters in my care. Especially so since the youngest had lots of medical needs in their younger days.
When your kids are getting into middle childhood and adulthood, your relationship with them changes -- you are still involved, but in a different way -- more as an individual personality, less as a sort of warm presence and need-fulfiller. Does that make sense? My memory of my young adulthood was that I wasn't as dependent on my parents, but I was very influenced by them as people.
And a similar thing is true with one's husband. My husband and I are not so much Parental Care Units and providers of needs. We don't have to strive so mightily to find corners of time to hang out together like we used to. We are busy, but in a different way -- more time for conversation, going to places together, so more like the years when we were first getting to know each other.
I like making lists, so I made lots of lists about my values, interests, goals -- both specific and general. Things like:
Nurturing old friendships
Gratitude for what has been given to me -- and trying to give back the kind of thing I was grateful for in older people
Mentoring adult kids -- towards college and work
Time with husband
Build church and community network
Support local businesses (we live in a small town)
Managing time to read things I always wanted to read
Learning to know myself and take my judgments seriously rather than just react or stifle my own sense of what is true in order to bend to others.
And things that might be more dependent on how things work out, like:
Go back to school for grad degree
Re-enter work world
Rent out present house and downsize to smaller house
I guess you get the idea. I just make lots of lists, and every once in a while look over them to see which ones still belong on there, which have changed or how, which have been accomplished.
For example, I really have made progress in spending quality time with my husband on a subtly different level. It's not like we were distant before, but I feel like our marriage is reaching a new stage, one I saw in my folks as we children got older and started leaving the house. I even had forgotten I had listed that as a goal, until looking it up just now, but it's encouraging that even though I might forget, my thinking has shaped how I am acting. That gives me hope : )
I hope this makes some sense. My parents were good examples to me in graceful aging. They kept learning and growing, and reaching out to people around them, so that truly, those around them "rose up and called them blessed". They didn't stop living and grow into rigid copies of themselves like some older people seem to (no one on this board of course ).
But if my parents were poor examples, I would look for other role models to emulate -- and even now, I still do look for older people I admire and try to figure out what I admire about them -- constancy to their faith, ability to love through heartache, finding meaning in suffering, willingness to reach out, love of learning and new experience, etc.
I feel like I'm just rambling around what I'm really trying to say. Hope something in here makes sense  
Even if I don't completely succeed at all my goals, that isn't quite so important to me as having them on the table and reflecting on them and being intentional about how I live the rest of my life.
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AMDG
Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
Take Up and Read
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Willa
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Just one more thing -- on a thread whose original title I've forgotten, Angie talked about "giving birth to a new self". That really stuck with me.
I was in transition at the time with my oldest children leaving home, my childbearing life apparently drawing to a close, my youngest at school-age. It's stressful when your life is changing and you have no real experience with the new things. And being older means less energy, less motivation to make radical innovations.
It really did feel like a sort of labor. You don't know what the new life will look like or how it will change you, and it's somewhat painful and strenuous, but joyrous too. Anyway, Angie's "giving birth" metaphor stuck with me and is probably the reason why I started journaling and thinking about how I could prepare.
Sorry that this is somewhat deviating from the OP! But it does sort of go with the "weirdness" that Barb mentioned that I feel too.
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AMDG
Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
Take Up and Read
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St. Ann
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Willa, thank you so much for sharing. Your thoughts really touched me in many ways.
My youngest also just turned 8. The medical needs of our children are manageable but are there for a lifetime. We are slowly finding our rhythm and calming down. My oldest is only 15, but our relationship has changed totally in the last year, which may also have something to do with her sisters' illnesses.
At 50 or almost 50 our life is no longer ruled by toddlers' needs or the total dependence of many children, which does free up some (dwindling) energy and muse. I am thankful that you shared Willa. You have given me a lot to ponder.
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Stephanie
Wife and mother to Hannah '96, Maria '99, Dorothea '01, Helena '03
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4Real Forums : St. Anne's Tearoom: Growing in Wisdom over 40
Topic: anyone almost 50. . .
