Last night I was out with some good friends from High School. I’m nearly 50, and we are all experiencing that, OMG, we’re all turning 50 stage of our life. So good conversations about where we are, where we are going, and what’s going on right now. There are lots of things that we probably think about collectively when we think about turning 50, like should we do something spectacular to celebrate? Of course everyone has a birthday at different times throughout the year, so you can’t just have one day for everyone, how special would that be? But turning 50 is sort of a right of passage. It’s sort of the kind of things that they write movies about. Think Bucket List.

I’m not afraid of turning 50. I figure it’s like that movie Logan’s Run, where the crystal on your hand blinks and you go to carousel. And with the meat crisis in this world, we then find out where soylant green comes from. Seems simple.

Ok, I kid, but 50 is a big deal. It is that transition from youth to I got 10-15 years before I retire. I think that we are more apt to face our mortality as we hit milestones like these, where we ask ourselves if we are where we want to be, and are we with whom we want to be with. We, more now than ever, see the fragile-ness that makes up our lives. We all know people from our generation who have passed away, and with each year that passes, a few more of our contemporaries will no longer be with us.

So we cherish each year, and celebrate. We do more to stay healthy, strong, and vibrant. In a world that has so much going on, we want to all live and succeed and enjoy life.

But getting back to friends. At least with my friends, it is not a competition of toys and things like that. It’s about having great moments. It’s about being with people who allow you to honor each other, celebrating life, and helping each other to remember, being alive is more than just breathing the air. It’s about having these amazing connections.

I’m not sure yet what I will do to celebrate turning 50. I’m excited to do a lot of things. It’s not one thing, it’s everything, and I’m glad that I will have friends that will be there for me, and me for them, because you only turn 50 once… and we get a whole year to commiserate.