Twinsight 50 of 50: Don't Let Any Day Escape as Ordinary

Thanks to Steve, Leah and Chloe for providing me lots of material and ideas for 50 Twinsights!

For my 50th birthday (3.20.11), Steve asked me what I wanted to do on that Sunday. Life had been so hectic that I selfishly wanted some time to myself and with our family to enjoy church, go running, do some writing, go for a walk on the Dakota Trail, and have dinner at home. It was a wonderful day.

I had a few ah-has that day. First, I had breezed through 40, but 50 seemed crazy old. I can relate to Ashleigh Brilliant who wrote, “Inside every older person there’s a younger person wondering what happened.” On a related note, I also realized that I didn’t know how to be 50. It seems that a lot has been written about the transition to 40, but not nearly as much on the transition to 50. Sometimes you think about the future and envision what life might be like in the next season. I had not spent one second thinking about my 50s. 

That's the ah-ha that led me to the idea that maybe I could blog about what it means to be 50 so I could process my observations while learning more about the medium of blogging to help me in my professional life. And then I could invite others to join me so I wouldn't be alone as I was kicking and screaming into this decade! That's how 50 Twinsights came to be.

In some ways, the last 50 weeks have been steady: same husband, same kids, same dog, same house, same job, same daily patterns. On the other hand, these weeks have included some significant experiences: one daughter went off to college and another daughter entered high school, a lot of day-to-day changes with a company merger, the loss of a dear friend, serving on a vision 2020 task force at our church, and balancing a full life...some days better than others.

What have I learned? I've gained clarity around how important it is to stretch ourselves as we get older...to make a conscious effort to continue to push ourselves out of our comfort zones so our brains and bodies don't atrophy. Those of you who know me well know that I'm a planner which is a blessing and a curse, right? The unnerving thing about this little experiment was that it was all pretty spontaneous. I never had more than one or two ideas for future posts. I woke up several Saturday mornings without even so much as a germ of an idea. But eventually I'd get a thread of a beginning. Madeleine L'Engle, an American writer, said that, “Inspiration usually comes during work, rather than before it." So true. In turn, I'm finding that once I take a courageous step in one area of my life, I feel more empowered to leapfrog forward in other areas of my life - like to confidently guide our girls without being controlling, create a compelling offer for a client, or contribute to an effort that will make others' lives better.

These 50 weeks also impressed upon me that God has put me on earth to be present in my every day life. Some mornings I get out of bed and think that’s it’s going to be an ordinary, ho-hum day in the grind of life with a never-ending to-do list. But I have a fresh resolve to not live with that perspective. And I want to dedicate this 50th post to three women who have been particularly inspiring to me this year in my quest to make every day count.

My first cousin by marriage, Jean Swenson, who continues to live with such
profound faith and purpose despite tremendous physical constraints as a quadriplegic.

My 102-year-old aunt, Christine Hall (pictured with cousin Connie and me), who continues
to live each day so gracefully and is a treasure to everyone who has ever known her.

Our dear friend, Nancy, who died just after turning 51 (in pink, on the far right, with Joyce, me and Karen),
who reminds me to not let any day escape as ordinary because she lived with gusto.

I may still post now and then. In the meantime, thank you for coming alongside me at some point in the past 50 weeks. I want to encourage you to join me in trusting God's promise that He will be there in the moment-to-moment victories and challenges of every day so we can live each day - and each year - that He gives us in extraordinary ways.