I am fifty. There, I said it out loud. The joyful day came last month on the 16th, but the anticipation had been building for the better part of a year. I had proudly marked the 50-year mark for my “older” friends whose birthdays all came before mine. ( I admit that I did my fair share of teasing and taunting as they all reached the half-century mark well ahead of me.) Well, I am sure you have heard of “payback time,” and boy did I get mine! Miss C. “decorated” the stop sign at the end of my cul-de-sac for six, straight days with posters and even my high school senior picture. (I am SOOOO glad that my entire neighborhood now knows how old I am, AND how bad my senior picture was!) Another friend, Miss P., inflicted carpal tunnel syndrome on my mail carrier with her daily deluge of cards. (I am sure her local Hallmark ran low on stock that week.) On the 15th, my family hosted a party for me complete with childhood photos plastered onto tri-fold posters for all to see. There was also an element of surprise at the party. (No, not a male stripper. That was birthday number 30!) A high school friend and her daughter came all the way from North Carolina to share in the festivities. What a great gift!

So, I am a little over a month into it, and all is well. I’ll let you know if it really is “nifty!”