Half a century

Forty is the old age of youth; fifty the youth olf old age.

Victor Hugo

Yes, I am turning half a century old. My soul is still a teenager, my bones are ancient and often painful.

It’s Good Saturday, Easter Eve. When I was born, it was Sunday of Palms, and I made my entry at 10:45 or 11:45 am. My mother gave me, in different moments, any of these two hours. Yes, it hinders with the calculation of the rising star, that’s different for each of these two possibilities. But I can live without a detailed horoscope.

She was waiting for me 2 weeks later, but I decided early in the morning that the Sunday of Palms was a better day for my arrival (yes, I heard that girls usually come sooner than boys). 50 years ago there was no echograph. Doctors guessed the baby’s gender by other signs, and my mother was told she was having a boy. She decided to name me Andrei and therefore as a newborn I grew up in blue clothes.

My doctor was away fishing, since Palm Sunday is a day when traditionally people eat fish. It wasn’t far from Bucharest, though, so he was brought back in emergency to perform the c-section which was needed in my mother’s circumstances. To my doctor’s and my mother’s surprise, I was a girl. So my mother found me a rare Latin origin name, and her best friend, who came 2 days later to visit her, advised her to give me also a saint’s name, reasoning: “She’s a girl; when older, she might not want to tell anymore how old she is, so give her a patron saint, to celebrate her name’s day. Call her Gabriela, for example, it’s in fashion.” (Yes, I had in my class, all through school, 4-5 Gabrielas, 4-5 Danielas and 3-4 Cristinas, these being my generation’s popular names). My mother said then that if it is to choose a saint’s name, I’ll bear her mother’s name, Elena. And I love it more.

Also, in most of my stories I have always written, I had a brother named Andrei.

50 years later, I can say I have got a nice life. Not everything was good and bright; I think nobody’s life is brilliant and spotless. I had disappointments, but I had also achievements. When calculating everything in balance, it has been all right. I have known professional success, including a PhD in World Economics. I have contributed, with my small possibilities, to my country’s European integration. I have taught several people.

I have lifetime friends and newer ones, I have known love and I have a husband who understands, supports and respects me (I do love, support, understand and respect him too). Lately, I have started to know writing success too. I have been writing for a lifetime, and I want to keep writing. It would be interesting how to interact with my readers now, though…

I have seen most of the European countries. Outside Europe, I saw Ceuta (part of Spain, but on the Morocco side) and Israel. I might see more, later… I have met lots of interesting people of various nationalities, ages, professions. Now, I am stepping into a new part of my life, and I am decided to live it to the fullest.

Age is no barrier. It’s a limitation you put on your mind ….. ~ (Jackie Joyner-Kersee)

I want no regrets in life. To do everything I can, while I can. I am not ashamed of my age, I will never pretend I am younger, and I am ready to embrace my next half century with a smile. (And a Greek dance, why not?)

 There is a fountain of youth.  It is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of the people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age. ~(Sophia Loren)