So...um...ok. Today I turned 50.
Fifty!
Fifty?
Five-zero.
Am I old? I don't feel old.
I mean...I DO feel old sometimes. Age plus cancer will do that to you.
But I don't FEEL old. I'm tired... but it's a tired from having a full life. Although I don't think I necessarily agree with the whole "Fifty and Fabulous" thing... I don't think I'm old. Sometimes I don't even feel like a grown up. 🤣
This is my tenth "bonus birthday" (my friend Kathryn's words). Turning 40 didn't bother me. In my opinion, at 40 I was fabulous. Turning 40 ½ was what bothered me. I was in the best shape of my life when I was knocked down by cancer.
A decade later... I am so very grateful to be alive and well. I may not be "fabulous" but I'm healthy. I'm happy.
I'm HERE.
I'm here to take care of my needy, high maintenance, diabetic, allergic to everything, bark at everything clinger of a dog.
I'm here to work... hopefully making a positive impact with both my day job working for the family biz and my side gig working with some truly incredible, talented women.
I'm here to watch my children grow into amazingly funny, kind, quirky, caring human beings. (And even though I'm fifty, I don't see how it's possible that my son is 21!)
I'm here to plan new adventures with old friends (looking at you Shelley and Tirzah).
I'm here for the theater performances, the band concerts, the DI competitions and all of the school "lasts" that are coming up (and I have the best friends right alongside me).
I'm here to have birthday pizza and ice cream cake with my family (in true Trudy fashion).
I'm here to have weekend away dates with my hubby (can't wait!).
I used to tease Boyd a lot about having a young wife. He's almost 11 years older than me, so it was fun to remind him that at 60, he had a wife in her forties. I can't do that anymore. I'm still almost 11 years younger, but it doesn't sound as fun to say he has a young wife who happens to be 50. ha. I'll get over it.
I haven't written a blog post in a long time (two jobs, two kids, a husband and a needy dog keep me BUSY!), but I just wanted to reflect a little bit on my birthday, and express my gratitude, because my cup truly overfloweth.
Thank you to my husband for starting the day off with birthday wishes to his "best friend", for driving me to work in case it was icy, for humoring me with the pizza and ice cream cake thing (versus the taking-me-out-to-dinner and baking-a-cake thing), and for our getaway this weekend. Life with you has been an amazing ride and I can't wait to see where we go next!
Thank you to Jared for always being my best bud. There is no better person in this world than you. And I love my pink keyboard!!!
Thank you to Kelsie for always keeping it real. Whether you're making silly tiktoks or I'm trying to decifer your latest typo-filled text written in "Kelsie-speak", you fill every day with laughter. You are a free spirit who makes everyone's world a little brighter.
Thank you to my mom, who is always going the extra mile to make things special. I love my flowers!!
Thank you to Justin for the text and the laugh. You definitely inherited your dad's sense of humor. I'm proud of the hard working family man you have become!
Thank you to Brooke. Thank you for the birthday wishes, thank you for always helping with Dexter, and thank you for being the most perfect girl for Jared.
Thank you to Kim & Natalie. You both know why.
Thank you to all of Kelsie's friends who texted me, hijacked her phone to text me during class, or sent me messages to wish me happy birthday. I love that you guys think I'm "that" mom (or you at least love Kelsie enough to pretend to like me).
Thank you to all of my friends both near and far. My birthday wishes came from all across the US... from New York to Oregon, North Carolina to California, and even other countries like Canada & France!
To all of the amazing people in my life who reached out today to wish me a happy birthday (and there were a lot!!) - I felt the love from everywhere. I'm so blessed. 💝
