Half a century. The big 5-0. That’s how old I am today and I’m here to let you in on a little secret. I didn’t wake up today to find any additional wrinkles on my face and my joints weren’t any stiffer than they have been the past five years. In fact, after sticking to a regular exercise program for the past 12 weeks, I’m happy to say that I feel better at 50 then I did at 49. Or even 45.

Sure, those of you who have already hit this milestone birthday know that your life doesn’t just change overnight when the clock strikes midnight and you turn 50. But if you’re like me, while turning 30 and even 40 was no big deal, I was a bit more apprehensive about turning 50. There’s just something about that number that makes it seem a lot older. Or maybe just old.

And I don’t feel old, for the most part. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was in my first job out of college, having the time of my life on my own. Not that I’d really want to go back to my 20s. They were fun, but once was enough, you know?

Took a short break because my mom and dad just called to wish me a happy birthday. Mom said she couldn’t believe I was 50, and I told her how I thought 50 was harder to deal with than 40. She said it was 60 for her. “That’s when I really thought, ‘I’m an old lady now’,” she told me. Funny how we both had the same “I’m old” thought, even though mine came a decade before hers. That hers came later is not surprising though. My mom (who is 30 years older than me) has always been an incredibly confident, strong woman. I think she’s the ultimate Boomer mother/woman in that respect. Hard-working, no-nonsense, commom-sense, can-do-because-there’s-no-other-option-attitude. Family always, always comes first. Of course, she also had six kids! She’s such an amazing woman.

And the talk with her, I think, is providing some insight into my #fitat50 challenge. Or maybe some inspiration. My goal with #fitat50 was to get back in shape in order to feel better physically and emotionally. While I wanted to lose at least 10 pounds, I lost closer to 6 or 7. But I’m okay with that because I feel a bit more toned (i.e. my jeans fit a bit looser and I lost a cup size in my chest) and overall, I have more energy, feel less stressed and am eating healthier more often. I still reserved the right to eat a bowl of ice cream and drink a glass of wine from time to time (tonight comes to mind!) and have no plans to change that.

But I also have no plans to quit my #fitat50 fitness challenge, which means continuing regular exercise (30-45 minutes, 3-5 days a week). It will be an ongoing #challenge (do you think hashtags will be around in 10 years?).

So that maybe, when I’m about to hit 60, I’ll say “No problem. Bring it!”