5 Things You Shouldn’t Do After 50 in WA State

I remember as a teenager thinking that a person who was 30 years old was OLD, and now here I’m turning the big girl age.

I won’t say how old I am but here’s a big hint:

via GIPHY

I’ve always heard that when you turn 50, er, I mean, 30, then it’s time to get an AARP card. Been there, done that, and got the Welcome Gift, baby. (I did that last year.) I had no idea you could get an AARP card before you turned the big 5-0, but apparently, any ole person can. (Ages 18+)

Now that I have officially turned 50 30 again, I decided to fill this milestone year with things I’ve never tried and make some unexpected decisions that I hope will change the trajectory of my life forever in meaningful ways.

There’s the saying that “you’re never too old to do (fill in the blank) but as I was approaching my big birthday this year, I hit a mid-life crisis!

Several things popped up in my mind that I felt that I was going to be officially "too old" to do. Then a great friend reminded me that I should be celebrating life, especially when so many people don’t get to live to see 50 years young. (Thank you, Sol!)

That being said, yes, you SHOULD do a bunch of cool, fun things after 50! We are not too old to have some fun and enrich our quality of life. I still plan to someday become a multi-millionairess (let's not worry about the 'how' for now), meet the love of my life, and go on a 7-day cruise as a VIP. (I’m still not ready to start looking for antiques or play backgammon and bidwhilstle, whatever that is!)

Image partially generated via Canva AI

Here are 5 things I encourage everyone who is turning 50 soon🎂 (or will be by the time you read this) to do. I’ve tailored my list to persons living in Washington State, but anyone can do it.🌲

1. Buy a pair of shoes you’ve never had.

I just bought a pair of Chuck Taylors for the first time ever. I got ‘em in GREEN! Instead of buying them online, did you know you can buy a pair of Chucks for less than $70 and pick them up in a Journey’s store near where you live here in Washington? (I didn’t. I guess there are a ton of things I still don’t know, even at age 50!)

journeys.com

2. Plan a fun trip to someplace unexpected.

In lieu of presents, I asked some of my girl friends to plan a Girls Trip to stay and have dinner at The Source at Suncadia Resort!

3. Put yourself back out there in the dating world.

I am a “single”, never been married, never been engaged…never really had a serious romantic relationship now that I look back on it. That's not to say I haven't been asked, I've just always said, NO! After my last round of dating disasters, I swore of dating forever, but you know what? This year, I’m going to put myself back on the market. (I refuse to try any more dating apps though, so I'll have to meet guys the old-fashioned way--like at a sock hop or soda fountain, or a Lady & The Tramp situation.

Canva

4. Dance like everybody's watching at Bumbershoot.

I bought myself a ticket to go see ONE act at Bumbershoot. I haven’t been to this festival in 10 years. I’m taking my 13-year-old, so that outta be wild. Unfortunately for me, the act I want to see is the very last show at 10:10 p.m. That is past my 50-year-old bedtime, ha, but I’m going to push through for you, my Marc Rebillet!

5. Turn in your old winning Washington State Lottery tickets and get that cash!

This morning before I left for work, I grabbed my pile of winning tickets and decided today’s the day I’m going to cash them in. I have one dollar here, a $2 ticket there…I think I have about $18 worth of winnings (out of about $150 I’ve spent buying lottery tickets this past year, ha).