I had a big birthday this week.

They call it the “double nickel” because no one wants to actually say the number.
I can’t even write it.
But I checked my birth certificate, and I did, in fact, turn it.
. Help me Jesus.

Just to keep things light (and hopefully not too depressing), here are 5 things that happen when you turn the double nickel:

1. You now take ten pictures on your cell phone in order to get one good one. And you thank God for Instagram filters and the ability to delete.
2. Wrinkles are no longer at the top of the extermination list. You’ve earned those lines, #$&% it! (#$&% = “Darn” or “Blast” in Christianspeak.)
3. Everything that used to be propped up, pushed up, and tightened is now about an inch lower, a little looser, and less likely to disappear at the gym. Relaxed is a nice way to put it.
4. Your hairdresser has become your best friend (Unless you are one of those freaks of nature blessed ones who still has her original color).
5. You debate whether you are being hip or gross every time you wear anything above the knees (if you have a child over 12, he will vote for the latter).

I’ll stop there. Because now I want to talk about what the double nickel feels like. You’ll be relieved to know, we are about to take an uphill turn.

They say wisdom comes with age but you don’t really own that phrase till you turn 50. In your 40’s you are still pretending you’re thirty-something, and hoping no one notices. But there is an inward banner that comes with 50. You’ve been around. And even though you may not know technology as well as a five year old, you have more to offer because of it.

There’s just no substitute for living.
And you’ve lived.
In fact, you probably have less than half your life left. (unless you are shooting for the Smucker’s jam anniversary label).

So that brings me to the real subject of this blog.
What are you going to do about it?

One benefit (?) of watching your age go up, is that you think about death more often. And because of that, you also think more about life.

We don’t have to reach a specific age to realize we only have one shot at this life. And each of us is given a unique Script to fulfill. We have people to love, jobs to do, and difficulties to overcome– with blessings and challenges that face us every day.
The only information we are not given is when we are in the last scene of our script.

It could be now. It could be years from now.
But how would you live the scene you are in if you knew it was your last?

By keeping that question in front of you, you have your best chance at living a great life.

And here’s a little wisdom from the senior citizen writing this blog:
You don’t have to wait till the double nickel to do it
.