"I don't want you to be 50," wails R6 on the eve of my birthday, flinging her arms around my neck.
"Er, I'm going to be 44 tomorrow, not 50," I reply. "Why don't you want me to be 50?"
"Because 50 is old," she says from the depths of my hair.
"Not that old," I reply. It's just around the corner now for me so it doesn't feel 'old' any more. I know lots of people in their 50s and older - none of them are 'old'. "And anyway," I add, "It'll be six years before I'm 50 and that's your whole life all over again."
That's a long time for a six-year-old. She hugs for a bit longer.
"Daddy's nearly 50," I remind her. Well, he's 48. Fifty is not so much round the corner for him as on the horizon, nearly visible. The hugging arms relax slightly. "And Granddad's going to be 70 on Monday, is he old?" Small head shakes no against my neck.
"Tell me who's 50," she demands, face still buried. I give her a list of all the people I can remember. It's quite a long list. All busy, fit people, very young seeming too. When I was in my 20s, 50 seemed ridiculously old. To R6 it must seem like forever.
She lets go and skips off happily, fears of the '50 monster' allayed. I contemplate it for a second but it still seems far off; hiding around the corner.
Hmmm - and I have 60 coming into view on my horizon. Well, I shall do a Scarlett O'Hara and say "fiddle-dee-dee, I'll just think about that tomorrow!"
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely 44th birthday anyway . . .
Hmm. 50? Been there, done that and got the tee shirt a few years ago. Even I think it seems very old.
ReplyDeleteDon't feel it though - it's as if it's happened to somebody else. Must be painless then!
Enjoy 44. x
50, 60, 70 - it matters not so long as one keeps busy, fit and surrounded by a loving family - not sure I've expressed that very well; but have a lovely 44th birthday anyway.
ReplyDeleteR6 is worried about 50? When her grandad is 70?
ReplyDeleteBear turns 65 in a few weeks, and that certainly isn't old, by any means. I'm just well into my "second adulthood" (the one that runs from 50 to 75, or longer).
Happy 44th.
I'm getting ready to celebrate the 34th anniversary of my 30th birthday and most days I don't feel old at all.
ReplyDeleteI'm 10 years older than you are and feel about 42 I have decided. For ages I felt like 37 so I am aging, just slowly.
ReplyDeleteOh, god, that 50 number. Just been there and done that. So understand the monsters lurking!! Husband was lovely though and made me feel about nineteen. So thats ok. x
ReplyDelete