2020 is a big year for me. I have been thinking about the year 2020 for a long time now. I remember thinking as a young girl how I will be 50 in the year 2020. That sounded so futuristic to me. I assumed by that year, we would all be wearing silver jumpers and flying our cars to our homes in the sky. What happened there? I guess I watched too much of The Jetsons.
Then, when I gave birth to my youngest child and did the calculations, as I’m sure all mothers do, it turned out, when she graduates from high school it will be the year 2020. The same year I turn 50! Boy, that seemed like it would take forever. The year 2020. Turning 50 and becoming an empty nester in the same year! And here we are. It’s so true when they say the days go slow but the years go fast.
I was never scared to turn 50. I married young and had children young, at least according to today’s norm. So I always knew in my head that I would be starting a whole new chapter in my life once my children have completed high school. Even though they will attend college and still require my assistance from time to time, there is a sense of completion as a parent. They are adults now and yes, we are still helping them in everyday issues but I can confidently say...we made it. We got through the years of raising children. My dad was 54 when I was born. Considering he was able to see most of his grandchildren into their teen years I’d say I have a great head start.
But to be honest, I am a bit nervous. The idea that it will be just my husband and I most nights seems odd. I feel like we are too young to not have the kids around. Will I get bored? I’m not sure. I do know we need to keep busy. I feel one of the best decisions I made was to start a YouTube channel. I work full time and right now it seems like I’m always busy between work and YouTube but I like that. I like keeping busy and on top of it, I enjoy working on my channel so much. I still have eight months to go before my youngest is off to college so until then I won’t even think about it much. Besides, she plans on staying local. My middle child comes home a couple of days a week as well and my son a few times a year (he lives in California). So really, we will not be full on empty nesters for a while still.
I am looking forward to more time to do things that I enjoy like reading a book or playing on the piano. I’m not great at the piano but it relaxes me and it's really a great escape.
I’ve spent almost 30 years working a full time job. I love the experiences that I had and I love that I made lifelong friendships but I’m at the point where it’s time to do something different. It’s time to stop being on someone else’s schedule. It’s time to start doing what I want to do every day and to take control of my time. My goal for 2020 is to live the life that I want to live and to start the process of doing just that. Being able to work on my own schedule is something I truly desire. After all, I deserve it.
I started a journal. I have never written in a journal before. My plan is to write down every night (or at least every night I can remember!) what it is I want to accomplish in 2020. My goal is to love the work that I do and be passionate about it. Each day will be challenging but before I know it, I will be reflecting on the year 2020 and looking at what I’ve accomplished. I want to be proud of the steps I took in 2020. I want to be excited about the changes I made to start living the life that I want.
If there is something you want to accomplish, don’t say I think I can. Say I know I can. Know that you can achieve whatever it is you want in life. It will take effort but in the end it will be worth it. Days go slow but the years go fast. Am I sad to be turning 50? No way. This is only the beginning of my Part II.