And just like that, I’ve changed gears and have officially left the fourth gear and shifted into the fifth gear. If you know anything about changing gears in manual cars, the fifth gear allows for the fastest speed using the least power. 

I powered through the last three decades of my life, and for a long time, I thought I didn’t go fast or far enough. But I was and am where I need to be. I’ll be using less power in the remaining decades, and confidently covering more mileage. 

Whatever life I have left will be lived with every zesty fiber in my being. My mama never told me that fifty could feel so fantastic. Like most, when I was younger, I saw fifty as old rather than older. Perhaps it was also because the fifty-year-olds around me acted “accordingly.” You know, the way society wanted them to show up for a long time. Dress a certain way. Walk a certain way. Talk a certain way. Be a certain way. Thank God we’re moving past that narrative.

On January 24th, 2022, in the second year of the COVID pandemic, dodging OMICRON, I celebrated my 50th solar return and eased into the day with a super amplified feeling of gratefulness for life and health. All I know is I feel fantastic.

Half a century is here. I welcome it. I’m grateful for it, and I will enjoy it along with every additional year. I am 50. Hear me roaring with gratitude for life and health!!! Thank you, God!

Cheers to me and many more blessed solar returns!!