Looking forward to life over 50

I am looking forward to life over 50 and I think you can too. My milestone birthday comes up in December and I really do see it as an occasion to celebrate life to date and to make plans for the future. Here are 5 reasons why I am feeling positive as I approach the second half of my life.

Self-confidence

It has taken me a lot of years to learn to love and accept who I am. I was always the child who did not quite fit in and was bullied. I was the teenager who did not break too many boundaries. I think as you get older you realise you really are all you have got so you may as well look in the mirror and become your own best friend. It’s amazing how when you really nail this, the world seems to buck up its ideas and start loving you back.

Freedom

I admit that I have not found the whole parenting gig easy to handle. I was very naïve about what it involved and the restrictions it places on you both work and leisure wise. As the children are nearly all in their teens, I can do my own thing more. If I have a life of my own, they also have time and space to become the individuals they are without me breathing down their necks. In the last couple of years I have worked out I can create my own reality and pursue my dreams.

Investing in myself

It is good that I have put other family members first over the years but self-care is vital too. I have learned this the hard way and experienced depression largely brought on by self-neglect I think. I ensure that I give myself regular little treats now as rewards for my hard work. I am designing my birthday celebrations so that they are exactly what I want and because I know my husband will not put a huge effort in. He is not a fan of birthdays but I am not going to allow that to hold me back this year.

New adventures

I have already started taking on new adventures with gusto. I made a major relocation a year ago and am so much happier in my new community. I have a social life that simply did not exist before. I want to continue to explore new places and to travel a lot. I would like to learn how to arrange flowers remembering that I have always dreamed of running a floristry business. I am not ruling out having more romance in my life either as I do believe there is life after 50.

Learning from my own mum

My mum only had 3 children but there were 17 years between us which meant she spent a long time giving her all to us. She also was heavily involved in her local community and church. I remember how my Auntie used to beg her to go on girlie weekends to London and how my mother would always turn down the opportunity. She ended up making herself ill by doing too much. Then she switched things up a bit and said yes to London. She returned full of fun stories and it started a new mum who travelled the world and got out and about locally too.

I think it is right to commit to our families especially when they are younger but then we can take a second wind and cherish life after 50.

 

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