Getting old? Yes, but NO WAY!

I've been thinking a lot lately about getting old. When is it too late to make radical changes in your life. At what point do people just think you're nuts? I've been talking to several people my age and older and one of the things that I keep running into is that these people are looking towards the end of their careers (in the short-term) and are no longer thinking about making changes that will excite them, but are just considering the easiest way to sneak out of life.

You see, our parents did that. Retirement was an amazing goal. They looked forward to sitting around, drinking ice tea (or whatever), maybe working on a few projects around the house, traveling to see grandkids, on and on and on. So ... if our parents did that, we should too?

When I was much younger, the people that were my parents age were old! They already acted old. If an older woman wanted to do things that only younger women did, she was called 'feisty!' Blech. I don't want to be feisty, I want to be Diane!

I'm about to make a major change in my life, a change that could take me 30 years to accomplish (well, not the initial change, but the overall goal). I want to be given those 30 years by people who know me and people who meet me. I don't want anyone to expect me to lay down and shrivel up simply because I turn a certain age. It's absolutely going to kill me to watch my friends move toward retirement and then settle into quiet, withdrawn lives because they think that's the thing to do.

Now, I know full well that many of you will take exception to all of this - and YEA!!! Do!! If you are looking forward to retirement, good for you. If you get all weak and feeble on me because you've given up on life, I'm kicking your butt.

This is going to be an interesting time for me. It scares the stuffing out of me that people my age and older quit going for the big, exciting jobs and huge dreams for their future because they think they have to. I don't want anyone to ever look at me and think that I can't do something simply because I'm no longer 25 years old. Now is the best time ever for me to be doing big, exciting things because I finally have the wisdom of the ages behind me (shaddup - all of ya!).

Look - this is what turning 50 does to ya. All of a sudden you get really reflective on life. Right? Right. Sigh ...