I Got My AARP Letter Today

I'm now eligible to pay $12.50 to join AARP. I think I'll pass for now. It's not that I'm in denial about making it to the half-century mark. I know it and feel it all too well. But maybe I'll join later.

So what is fifty supposed to feel like anyway? If this is it, it's no big deal. I feel just like I did yesterday and the day before that. And I was only 49 then.

Two of my oldest girlfriends ... wait ... that didn't sound right. Two women that I've been friends with the longest of practically anyone ... geez, that sounds rather awkward, too. TWO FRIENDS took me out for supper tonight after work.

I hadn't seen Deb and Karla in way too long a time. When our kids were little, we used to go shopping together in Ft. Wayne on a regular basis. We were all members of Stitch 'n' Bitch, which is what we called our little group that got together once a month at one another's homes. We talked on the phone several times a week. But somewhere over the last few years, our lives got in the way or something, and we haven't seen nearly enough of each other.

We went to Billy's in Zulu, Indiana. Billy's is known for their great Mexican food and while I'm not a huge fan of Mexican, I do like some of it. I don't eat it often enough for me to remember the difference between an enchilada and a burrito, so I always have to ask. It's the burrito that I like. But hold the refried beans. Ick.

We spent nearly three hours catching up. It felt good to connect again. They got me a cute card and a beautiful bracelet. We made plans to ride River Greenway on our bicycles in a couple of weeks. All but one of our kids is out of the house and on their own, so we have no excuse to not get our relationship back on track and tonight was a start.

So, back to this 50-year-old stuff. I used to think that sounded old. It still sounds old to me, sort of, but now that I'm the one that is fifty, my perspective on it has changed a bit. I think it's harder on my mom; she can't believe she's old enough to have a fifty-year-old child. I reminded her that she's younger than her 92-year-old mother.

That didn't help much.