The Eve of Fifty

As my fifth decade of life draws to a close this week, I want to spend a blog post itemizing some of the biggest achievements of the last 10 years.

Kids

On the day I turned 40, my oldest child was ten years old. Now, my youngest child is eleven. Owen has graduated both from high school and college. He obtained his driver’s license and has a job. Isla is now in high school, and Emmett finished elementary school just last week. I no longer have little kids!

Divorce

I know this isn’t generally considered an “achievement”, since this isn’t something most people aspire to. Nevertheless, I like to view it as growing rather than failing. Jennifer and I divorced in late-2019. There were some rough spots, but we get along quite well now, and I think we are both better for it.

Engagement

Brycie and I met online the day before I turned 45. We dated for a few weeks, broke up, then – about two months later – got back together and we’ve been together ever since. We’ve been engaged since 2021, and we have no date set for a wedding yet.

Education

I completed my undergraduate courses at Hamline University at age 41 with a major in English and a minor in History. I am now enrolled at Southern New Hampshire University working on my master’s degree. I am about 70% done.

A few random other accomplishments…

I achieved Distinguished Toastmasters status in the Toastmasters International program at age 46. I had been in Toastmasters since my 30s, and I wasn’t planning to complete the program so soon, but they changed their rules and set a deadline, so I had to hurry it up.

I have a goal of visiting all 50 states. At the time I turned 40, I had visited 22. Just a few weeks after turning 40, I went on a work trip that took me to Rhode Island and, shortly after that, another work trip took me to Oregan. Since then, I have also been to North Carolina, Arkansas, Mississippi, Connecticut, North Dakota, Missouri, Kansas, Virginia, Maryland, California, Wyoming, Montana, Oklahoma, Hawaii, New Hampshire, and Maine (in that order) bringing my total up to 40.

I made a goal several years ago of visiting all of the MN Historical Society’s sites. At the time I turned 40, I had only been to three. Now I’ve been to 13. There are 26, so I’m halfway there.
This isn’t really an achievement, either, but I think it’s interesting. At the time I turned 41, all four of my grandparents were still alive. I don’t personally know anyone else who can say that. In the years since then, they have all passed away, but I am thankful for the time I had with them.

Other things I am glad I did in this decade of my life (followed by the age at which I did them) include: