If you turned fifty in 2019, you’re in good company. Sesame Street, ATMs, quartz watches, Tick Tacks, the first manned moon landing, and even the Internet celebrated the BIG 5-0 right along with you. Still, you might wonder: How did I get to be that old?

Fifty is where you might pause and take stock of who you are, where you want to be, and what you need to do to get there. Or maybe you say, “Hey! I’m fifty. Life doesn’t get any better than that.”

In either case, by the time you reach midlife, you have created lots of stories. It’s time to tell them:

Tell the story about your fiftieth birthday.

How did you feel as you approached fifty? Tell the story.

Remember when you were in your twenties and thought anyone in their fifties was “ancient”? How did you feel when YOU were the “ancient” one? Tell the story.

Women: Did you reach menopause in your fifties? Was menopause accompanied by hot flashes, sleepless nights, body changes, heart palpitations, mood swings, and/or painful sex?  Did you take hormones or perhaps try more natural herbal supplements? Did you feel “liberated” because you no longer had to be concerned with birth control, or were you depressed knowing you had passed the childbearing age? Tell the story.

Men: Even doctors tend to see men as sex machines plugged in to “perform.” Were your fifties accompanied by low libido that perhaps led to decreased self-esteem? Did you take a prescription medication such as Viagra or perhaps you tried more natural herbal supplements. Tell the story.

Tell the story about your hair turning gray. Did you color it or let nature do what nature does? Why?

Tell the story about gravity “taking its toll.” What did you do and how did you feel when you noticed your stomach bulge, breasts droop, underarms swing, and/or wrinkles and age spots? Did wrinkle creams become a permanent line item in your budget? Did they work? Did you attempt to “turn back the clock” with treatments such as Botox or even a full face lift?

Tell the story about needing your first reading glasses.

Tell the story about your children leaving for college or getting married. How did you and your partner adjust to an “empty nest,” if, indeed, you did?

Did you have a midlife crisis? What happened? Tell the story.

Were you divorced? What happened? Tell the story.

Did you have your first grandchild when you were in your fifties? Tell the story.

Tell the story about how your fifties opened new opportunities and new beginnings.

What is the worst thing about being in your fifties? Tell the story.

What is the best thing about being in your fifties? Tell the story.