We celebrated my friend’s birthday last night, and a beautiful celebration it was!! She is turning the infamous 50 this month, and is finally catching up to me three months after I entered, what I have been told will be, the best decade of my life. The 50’s will be great; I will grow and I will become my most authentic possible self. I am feeling gradual evolution, and am hoping it will continue since my 40’s were not so hot!!
The evening was well planned as we wanted it to be a surprise for our honoured birthday girl. We had a pre-planning meeting (leaving her oblivious, of course) and worked out all the details. The first item on the agenda was how to keep it a surprise. We decided to plan a “Secret Santa” exchange outing, and then spring the birthday agenda on her once we arrived at one of her favourite hot spots, Tango. Surprisingly, settled on a date and, also surprisingly, she was available. Our planning began with a small set of rules:
1. We were going out in “Sex and the City” style, so we needed to dress the part.
2. No heavy eating that day as we would be making 3 stops, all involving an abundance of food.
3. We each picked a name for the gift exchange (chuckle, chuckle) and agreed on a monetary amount, which no one adhered to, so that worked out.
4. We would be taking a cab there and back to avoid any drinking and driving charges or mishaps.
Our evening began with one of my friend’s daughter volunteering to be our chauffeur. This was taken with gratitude because none of us were ready on time as we dealt with feeding families, kid’s hockey games, getting dressed and sparkly, as well as, wet finger nails. None of us were walking very fast as we decided to wear the highest heels we could find; I brought a back up pair because I am a realist and knew that no amount of alcohol would numb the pain in my feet those stilettos were going to inflict on me.
Astoundingly, we made it to our first destination on time. It was en route that we crowned our birthday queen with a tiara and pink and black feather boa. She was shocked, yet ever so ready for the forthcoming festivities, of which we kept a secret. Our car conversation will not be shared in detail, but I will let you know that there was much discussion on turning 50 and the aging experience. We were being positive while still acknowledging the individual concerns we each have regarding growing older. We talked about the past decade and how none of us would ever want to go back to it for a number of personal reasons. We were all determined to make the future our own and simply be happy, but we were moving with trepidation.
After appetizers and drinks at Tango, we informed our honouree that we needed to move on to the next destination. It was close by so we walked and stood on the corner talking and laughing, waiting for a light to change. Needless to say, we were quite loud. At one point, l looked up and saw an elderly couple, easily in their 80’s, watching us intently. It looked like they might be annoyed by our boisterous manner, much like we are when we see unruly teens being drunk and disorderly. They kept staring, and I felt inclined to apologise for disturbing their night out. I walked over to them and told them that “I was sorry for our loudness but, my friend just turned 50.” The woman looked up at me, smiled widely, and said, “Oh, don’t worry about that; you young people go and have fun!”
What a revelation; “you young people”!!! Here we had spent time discussing and analysing the perils of aging and, specifically, turning 50, and there was a woman who actually viewed us as being “young”. When I woke the next morning and lay there reflecting on the previous evening’s events, I remembered this amazing woman and how she brought everything in perspective for me. It was a true epiphany as I then decided that I would never waste another moment worrying about “being old” or “getting old”. From now on, my only focus will be on enjoying every minute of every day with everyone I meet and know. Please join me in not spending any more time dreaming of being younger; instead let's all relish in the joys of experiencing getting older. Dare ya..................
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