Extraordinary People

                A little more than thirty-five years ago, my father celebrated his fiftieth birthday.  I remember it like it was yesterday.  I particularly remember thinking, “Wow, I have an old father.”  From a fourteen year old’s addle-brained perspective, fifty sure seemed old.  Fast forward those thirty-five years and imagine what I thought when my youngest (though not young) sister greeted me this morning with:  “Nifty, nifty, Mikey’s fifty!”  In case you haven’t guessed what I thought, allow me (in a feudal attempt to seem young and relevant) to rap it for you:  “Holy sh**ty, I turned fitty!” 

Fortunately, aging has never bothered me, and this year doesn’t seem any worse than the previous forty-nine.  As I tell my friends, I never played sports, so nothing hurts.  I do tend to be reflective around my birthday though (go figure), and I admit to being somewhat more so as I tuck a half-century over my belly and under my belt.  So over the past few weeks, I’ve spent a good deal of time asking myself what everyone else is asking me:  “How does it feel to be fifty?”  I never came up with an answer until early this morning as I awoke to the realization that the Big 5-0 had finally arrived.  How does it feel to be fifty?  It feels EXTRAORDINARY!

The object of my contemplation then turned to why fifty feels extraordinary.  Extraordinary isn’t a word that I use lightly, and I certainly don’t consider myself extraordinary.  If I had to pick one word to describe myself, it would be “boring.”  That said, I do know a lot of extraordinary people.  I know extraordinary people who have suffered unspeakable tragedies and still manage to bring a smile to anyone who needs one.  I know extraordinary people who never let illness or injury stop them from doing what they want to do.  I know extraordinary people who never stopped searching for their happiness until they found it.  I know extraordinary people who love the extraordinarily unlovable.  I know extraordinary people who faced death with extraordinary courage and grace.  I know extraordinary people with extraordinary minds and extraordinary people with extraordinary hearts.  So why does something as ordinary as turning fifty feel extraordinary?  I couldn’t figure it out.

          As the day wore on, my mind turned to other thoughts.  You see, I had figured out that my extraordinary wife had planned a surprise party for me, so I spent the day having a lot of fun wondering who would be there.  As I traveled down memory lane thinking of all of the friends and family who grace my life, it suddenly dawned on me.  Consciously or subconsciously, by fate or by design, I’ve surrounded myself with extraordinary people.  People who have supported me, comforted me, encouraged me and loved me – extraordinary people who can even make turning fifty EXTRAORDINARY!  Thank you to all of the extraordinary people who have given me such an extraordinary life.