This Year It's "Double Nickles"

Yes, another birthday is bearing down on me.  Next week.  Halfway through my fifties.  They say "Fifty is the new 30!"  but most mornings, my body agrees with my friend Mr. Perlman: "Fifty may be the new 30, but sixty is still fuckin' 60!" 
In other words, nothing is quite as easy as it once was.  The body doesn't respond as well or as quickly to physical challenges, your mind may not be quite as quick as it once was.  (In my case, anyway, this is directly attributable to the fact that I wake several times a night certain that I am being roasted alive.  Aging, especially if you are a woman, is not for sissies, my dears.)

On the other hand, there is something liberating about being "older".  You may find that what other people think isn't quite as important as it once was.  You may well be more comfortable in your own skin now, even if it is rather wrinkly in places.  True, I no longer cause young men to walk into the backs of parked cars, (as my father alleged I once did when washing my car in our driveway while wearing my bathing suit) but I still look good.  Most of the time, I feel young.  I don't have anyone constantly reminding me that I'm actually old.  (Sorry Mom, but you wanted to have a baby when you were 36.  Lucky you, you had a teenaged girl in the house when you were struggling with menopause.  You were far braver than I ever was.)

There are reminders of my actual age everywhere, though.  Songs I listened to on Top 40 radio (which no longer even exists, I don't believe) in high school and college now populate the "oldies" stations.  Classic jazz artists and big band music that my parents loved (and I reviled as a teen for that very reason) are now very appealing to me.  I have grown up enough to appreciate them, to hear the artistry present in them.  There are events I remember watching play out on the Nightly News that the younger folks I work with learn about in History class. 

One thing that will keep you young, though, is a passion for learning new things.  Staying engaged with life, learning how to use new technology, reading new authors, listening to music you might have passed on before, and having an interest or two to pursue can keep you going.  My singing is an interest that challenges me and keeps me working toward  improving my skills and learning more about music, my job is endlessly fascinating in the myriad of new challenges, new skills to learn and share with others. 

You see, that's what my job is really all about.  Keeping people connected to the resources they need to live a full and well informed life.  Libraries do that.  We provide entertainment, education, opportunities to enjoy programs on various subjects, access to materials that you may need for work or school, even physical fitness programs.  Libraries also provide to you a group of professionals who are dedicated to maintaining your right to access those materials, and helping you access them.  Most of them are also dedicated to being a vital part of your community, too.

That's what keeps me young.  Getting to go hang out with some of the smartest, coolest, funniest people in town every day.  My fellow staffers are great at their jobs, and they are interesting people, too.  Many of our customers are pretty cool, too.  Having to use technology in my job keeps me up to speed on it for the most part, and social media may be one of my guilty pleasures, but it helps me stay current with the culture, and keep up with many of the people I really care about.

So, all I have to do is survive this coming week, doctor visit tomorrow and all, and then I have a week off, during which I will celebrate that birthday that's breathing down my neck.  I have no idea what we'll do.  We may see a movie, we may eat out, maybe have friends over, I don't know.  I do know that on my actual birthday, I'll be at choir practice, so I suppose I could make a cake to take and share. Whatever we do, I will be grateful for another year of this life.  Sometimes, it seems difficult to slog through, and I feel like I'm messing everything up, other times, it feels pretty damn wonderful.  My family, my husband, and my friends both here and far away, are the best birthday presents ever.  The love I have surrounding me is the greatest gift I can imagine.  I hope I succeed in sharing it with you, because that's the only thing to do with love: share it.