A look back

Tomorrow, day before Valentine's Day, is my birthday.  It will be the beginning of my final year in my 40s. This makes me think about what I might want to accomplish in this upcoming year before achieving age 50. Before figuring that out, I thought I would look back at what my forties have brought so far. Wow. Here's a list of five things in each of three categories (family, fitness, career) that quickly came to mind:

Family

• Watched my kids grow up before my eyes.  At age 40, they were 11 and 13. Both were in middle school. One was newly a teen. At age 49, they are 20 and 22.  Both are in college.  One is graduating this year! The other is engaged!
• Experienced the loss of both my father (2009) and my mother (2014).
• Celebrated a 20th wedding anniversary, and am now preparing to celebrate a 25th.
• Lots of family vacations throughout, but started vacationing just with Husband more frequently as the kids have gotten older.
• Experienced the loss of one old dog and then another and then another. Eventually added a new cat to the family, then a new dog, and another dog. One cat was constant throughout this period.

Fitness 

• Learned to swim!
• Bought a bike.  And then another bike.
• Became a triathlete, runner, and cyclist.  
• Completed over 75 run/cycle/tri events thus far after having completed fewer than five in the entire decade prior.
• Became a part of the community of weekend athletes. Started Blogging. Joined a run group. Made new friends.

Career

• Worked in the same organization in the company, but held different positions and gained new skills.  
• Received some fairly significant recognition at work; also won an iPad in a work-sponsored contest.
• Traveled outside the US a handful of times for work.
• Taught classes/workshops at work and now am taking graduate classes for myself.
• Enjoyed two sabbaticals, a benefit we get every 7 years.