Thoughts on a Life

In case you couldn't tell from yesterday's post, I have had a birthday.  Today, I am in my fifties.

But what does that mean? I read somewhere that entering one's fifties is akin to entering one's twenties, only with less time ahead of you to correct the mistakes you're bound to make.

That's not a comforting thought, gentle readers.

It really isn't.

Although, looking back, I have to admit that my life in my twenties was actually quite good. A fair number of formative experiences occurred for me during my twenties. Perhaps, chief among them, my resolution to never fall in love again.

But that's a post for another time. A time involving a great deal of liquor and digging up some old, private and terribly unpleasant memories.

Today, I'm thinking about the future. Or my present, if you like.

What does it mean to be in your fifties? What milestones should a person have reached by this age?

I don't know. 

I've owned a home and sold it off because it wasn't for me.

I've sat down and thrown my hat into the world of competative independant authorship. 

I've changed careers and invested in a business that, I feel, brings people not only great joy, but also can help establish the moral centers of young readers.

I've traveled back and forth across the nation, from Alaska to Florida, from the West Coast to the East Coast and into Canada. (Lovely people, Canadians. So very nice, and I don't mean that in any kind of pejorative or dismissive sense.)

So, I've done all those things and more. Am I stepping into my fifties with a lot of spaces marked off on my Life Bingo card? I don't know.  I've done things other people haven't, just as others have done things I haven't.

I guess the big question is, do I feel as if I've had a fulfilling life? 

I'd say, for the most part, about 99%, that I have.

I am content with my lot. Perhaps too content.

Am I ready for the future?

I don't know.

I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what's next. :)