Martin's Musings

I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but here goes: Today, I’m turning 50 years old. Fifty! The Big Five-Oh. AARP-benefits eligibility age.

How did that happen?

Truth be told, the signs that I’m getting old have been there for a while: My hair is grayer than it used to be. I recently started taking a statin pill every day to manage my cholesterol. My glasses now have progressive lenses. There’s a slight pain in my lower-back whenever I stand up, thanks to an injury I sustained last summer. I can’t sleep through the night without having to get up at least once to go to the bathroom. I’ve had to have two colonoscopies in recent years, and a third is scheduled for later this summer. I watch the CBS Evening News nearly every weeknight while I eat dinner. And my Mr. Heckles­­/Grandpa Simpsons/Walt Kowalski–like behavior has gotten to be a bit … much.

So, yeah. Much as I’d like to think I’m not as old as I am, it’s hard to deny it: I’m 50.

Ordinarily, I’d be making a bigger deal about a big birthday like this one. And it’s not that I’m not making a big deal about it. I am. But if I’m being honest, my birthday this year doesn’t feel the same as it usually does. And that’s because I don’t feel the same as I usually do.