I am reaching a fairly significant milestone in my life tomorrow.

I am turning “50.”

Even saying it, and seeing it written in front of me here in this post is enough to make me want to…

a. cry

b. take a nap

c. scream and say “wow, you’re getting old!”

d. all of the above.

I am usually very comfortable with my age. I have no problem telling people how old I am. I am just amazed at the number. Seriously, I can’t write a country song that says what I am going to do with my next “50” years. Well, I could, but no one would believe it, and doing laps in the halls at a rest home at 90+ doesn’t sound like a fun thing to sing about.

I am half of a century!

I have been thinking a lot about my mom, and how old I was, when she turned 50. I honestly don’t remember it being a big deal to her. She never has been as dramatic as I am. I know because of her and others, that it is what you make it. It can be traumatic, or an accomplishment. I can say, “I havn’t done everything I wanted to do!” or “I’m not rich!” Or, I can focus on all that I have accomplished and say, “I am amazing!” I think I’ll do the second one. It sounds better!

So in celebration of my 50th birthday, here is my “Bucket List.” (This may be modified according to mood swings and hot flashes)

I would like to:

1-Serve  missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: -Family History mission, Humanitarian mission, etc. (Note: we will definitely need to retire first for this, if we can, ya never know.)

2-Travel to: -England, Wales and Norway, to do family history research. -Other parts of the United States, Boston, Minnesota, North and South Carolina, Colorado for the same reason and also Canada. -San Antonio, Texas and the surrounding areas, where I served my mission a hundred years ago. – A cruise with all of my children and grandchildren when my darlin and I have been married for 50 years. -The Oregon and Washington coast -Central America to see the ruins.

3-See and do: -see the Northern Lights. -see Puffins in their natural habitat. -Meet a Prophet of God. – visit a medieval castle. -write a book.

The older I get, the more I care about the person I am, on the inside. I know it is inevitable that I will wrinkle and gray, and I am not the type to spend a ton of time and money fixing that, but I would like to be kinder to myself in the next “50” years. Be productive, and successful, and not hard on myself for all of my short comings. Love me -more.

So Happy Birthday, Self! I love you, and I’m glad to know you! You’re amazing!