The Big Fifty

I can't believe it. I am 50 years old today. The AARP keeps sending me mail and I keep shredding it. They want me to pay them so that I can declare that I am getting old. Nonsense! I can look in the mirror for that. I can try to scale the stairs for the constant reminder that my knees no longer are cushioned by the cartilage they used to have. I can try to get off of the floor only to find myself crawling upon the nearest chair leg and then using the arm rest to drag myself off of the carpet. I don't need reminders that I am heading toward the century mark. No sir!

Are you there God? It's me Laura. I haven't been very good about keeping you in my life lately. Too much going on, it seems. You are always in my thoughts and on the tip of my tongue. I acknowledge your presense with each beautiful sunset and every song I hear escaping a sparrow's beak. I see you in the trees and in every ray of sunshine. However, I haven't really spoken to you lately. So, how about now?

I first of all want to thank you for providing me with a constant reminder of my favorite treat; the Rice Krispy Treat. I hear that familiar sound each time a bend over, turn to my opposing side in bed and lift up a bag from the floor. Instead of feeling resentment, I feel gratitude. At least I can still hear the popping. I can still feel the snaps. I can experience the crackle each time I twist my ankles or bend my toes. This means I am still alive. Praise be! I can walk. I can feel. I can still live out my dreams. So thank you my God for Rice Krispies and for my continued life.

I feel a need to make promises to myself and others. After all, I only have about 30 some years left in order to do so. I first promise myself to be more aware of my needs. I've always taken such good care of other people and really don't take care of myself. Secondly, I promise to take better care of my relationship with God. Thirdly, I promise to be the friend, mother, wife that I would want for myself. This will be the hardest of the three. Seems like the older we get, the less time we have for the things or people in our lives that mean the most. This may be our children, our spouses, our pets, our friends or our extended family. It isn't hard to do. Forget that is. What is more challenging and more difficult for us is to make that effort to think before we speak. Hug and tell others how much we care more often. Go that extra inch to make another feel valued and important. With the Christmas season in full bloom at this point, it seems the perfect time to re-aquaint ourselves with the feeling of peace we receive from random acts of kindness. I hope all of you reading will join me in this endeavor and please share what you have done. By sharing our efforts, we can influence and spread love and charity.

As my first birthday gift to myself, I have hugged and kissed my own family and told them how valued they make me feel. The smiles I received in return were worth more than the small effort it took me to tell them.