Today is my half birthday. Happy birthday to me! Normally I wouldn't be celebrating a half birthday, I outgrew that practice at about fifty years ago. This one however, deserves a commemoration. I'm 59 1/2 which means I can withdraw from my IRA without paying a 10% penalty. Hip. Hip. Hooray!
Should I be dancing a jig? I wish I could, but my hip is quite arthritic. My bank statement came today to tell me how much I can spend now that I'm legal in the world of retirement, but I can't read it. I can't find my glasses. And now I'm only six months away from being 60. How in the heck did that happen?
I'm the youngest of four siblings. They have all made it safely into their sixties and are waiting for me to catch up. In this case, playing catch up is a good thing. Except that I have five more years before I can get Medicare. But those milestone birthdays always scare me and this one is no different. And the next milestone comes in only five years instead of the customary ten. I'm edgy about it already.
Is all of this really worth celebrating? Honestly, it is. We all have a few off days here and there. When those happen I keep my chin up and focus on the bigger picture. I'm happy and I've been blessed with so many wonderful people and experiences in my life. I've prepared for my old age as best as I can. No matter what happens in the future, the past has been pretty darn good. And I'm looking forward to making it even better, a good hip or not.
So bring on my half stack of presents and the half of a cake with the half a candle on top. I'm ready to blow out half the flame and keep the other half burning! Happy half birthday to me!
Should I be dancing a jig? I wish I could, but my hip is quite arthritic. My bank statement came today to tell me how much I can spend now that I'm legal in the world of retirement, but I can't read it. I can't find my glasses. And now I'm only six months away from being 60. How in the heck did that happen?
I'm the youngest of four siblings. They have all made it safely into their sixties and are waiting for me to catch up. In this case, playing catch up is a good thing. Except that I have five more years before I can get Medicare. But those milestone birthdays always scare me and this one is no different. And the next milestone comes in only five years instead of the customary ten. I'm edgy about it already.
Is all of this really worth celebrating? Honestly, it is. We all have a few off days here and there. When those happen I keep my chin up and focus on the bigger picture. I'm happy and I've been blessed with so many wonderful people and experiences in my life. I've prepared for my old age as best as I can. No matter what happens in the future, the past has been pretty darn good. And I'm looking forward to making it even better, a good hip or not.
So bring on my half stack of presents and the half of a cake with the half a candle on top. I'm ready to blow out half the flame and keep the other half burning! Happy half birthday to me!
No comments:
Post a Comment