A Birthday Post For My Wife

carole beach for carole knits

Today you will not hear from Carole; she has been replaced for the day by me, Dale, her husband. Why? You ask? Well, I can answer that musically with a lyric from that old classic Earth, Wind and Fire song September.

Do you remember the 21st day of September?

Okay, got it yet? If not here’s another clue: September 21, 1965. Do the math – that was 50 years ago today and we’re giving Carole the day off! (from the blog, at least, since she’s going to work as usual. the nerve of a major birthday like this to fall on a Monday. sheesh.)

Alright, now I’m sure everyone is on board. Today we celebrate Carole as she turns the Big Five-Oh!

When I met Carole she was very young and when we started dating she had just passed over that little speed bump  known as 30. By the time she was 40 we had been married for eight years and now here she is on this new milestone of 50. And a wonderful milestone it is.

Carole and I talked a lot about how she feels about turning 50 while we were driving to a little getaway to the Cape this past weekend and I can assure you she is ready and raring to take her 50s by storm. I will now attempt to sum up our philosophical discussion on birthdays into 5 decades for simplicity.

  • 0-10, you’re just little and you have fun!
  • 11-20, you become your own person but adults don’t take you seriously . . . although you will hear adults tell you to grow up. A lot.
  • 21-30, you grow up, you start making your own decision, some good and some, well, not.
  • 31-40, your plans for your life start to take hold, some dreams come to fruition, some dreams change, you raise a family and you work hard
  • 41-50, no doubt about it, now you’re an adult. You hit your stride, there’s lots of responsibility but also lots of satisfaction.

And then it happens. at least, according to Carole. You realize that there’s more sand in the bottom of that hourglass than the top and all of a sudden you are free to be the person you want to be. It doesn’t mean you won’t continue to work hard, take on new projects, learn new things and seek out new adventures, it just means you’ll have more fun doing these things because you won’t give a hoot about what people think about what you are doing. You are truly in charge of your own destiny in a way that you haven’t been before. And you come to realize that life is short and there are no guarantees so you’d better enjoy every minute of it doing the things that matter most with the people you love most.

So today we will celebrate this big birthday by looking back a little and looking forward a lot. The family is coming over tonight for a good old-fashioned birthday gathering complete with pizza and cake. (I hear Hannah has some surprises for her mom, too, something about a signature sangria? I think I’ll play it safe and stick to beer.) I’d sure appreciate it if you’d all send Carole a birthday wish because I know she appreciates all of you who read her blog and you are important to her.

I will say, as someone who is a bit, errr, older than Carole, that I do remember the 21st day of September in 1965. I am so glad and grateful that the journey Carole began on that day eventually crossed paths with my own journey because I sure do love her.

I’m going to end this post as it began, with the lyrics from a song:

May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young

Happy Birthday, my darling, and many many more.
Dale

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This Post Has 57 Comments

  1. Than-you Dale! Happy Birthday to Carole and may you both live and love lots in the great years ahead!

  2. Happy, Happy Birthday Carole! May you enjoy many, many more. And well done Dale for another excellent blog post!

  4. Aww! I have to reiterate your thankfulness for crossing paths … I sure am glad Carole’s path crossed my own. Love you, my friend, can’t wait to take our 50’s by storm together!

  11. Happy Birthday, Carole. We are birthday sistahs, err, I am an older sistah but mind is forever young. Have find! Nice blog, Dale.
    ????

  13. Dale. Your words bring me to tears. Beautifully written, again. Tell Carole one more thing, a woman is most beautiful in her 50s.
    I’ll head on over to post a birthday wish on fb.
    Judy

  15. Happy birthday Carole! May the coming year and decade be filled with abundant blessings. Thank you for sharing your adventures and creativity with us through your blog. And thanks to Dale for a wonderful post. Happy Day!

  16. What a beautiful birthday post, Dale! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Carole!!! You’re so right — 50 (and +) brings so much freedom and perspective and just plain fun. You’re gonna love it, Carole. (And Dale? I’d stick with beer, too.) XOXO

  17. Thank you, Dale, for this lovely birthday post. And my very best Happy Birthday wishes for Carole. I agree wholeheartedly with your decade breakdown. Fifties have been the most fabulous for me by far!

  18. To one who already knows how to create joy in a life well lived, enjoy your special day with love and abandon! Have a fabulous 50th year with that guy your married to as he has one in a million!! xox

  20. Happy Birthday Carole! I hope it’s a wonderful year, and that you have many more birthdays to enjoy with your family.

    Great post, Dale. 🙂

  21. Happy Birthday, Carole! I hope you have a great day today and a wonderful year ahead.
    P.S. I think Dale should have his own blog; I would be a reader!

  24. Happy Birthday, Carole! The enthusiasm with which you approach life is apparent in everything you do! Enjoy this next stage of life! Thank you, Dale for your heart felt post today!

  27. Happy birthday Carole! Have a fantastic day (sorry about that work thing…) and a wonderful sangria and pizza party tonight!

  28. What a nice post! Thank you, Dale. Carole…..didn’t know that it was such a momentous year! You both summed up the decades perfectly. For me, after I turned 50, I really started to understand what the term “authentic life” meant. It is so fulfilling to feel that one is there, living the life they were meant to live. Each day seems more precious. Enjoy every minute.

  29. Dale, you have the soull of a poet. Your birthday tribute to your beautiful and talented wife is very moving.

    Carole, almost every day you inspire me, make me laugh, give me new ideas, and demonstrate the art of living to the fullest. May this new decade be filled with happiness, new adventures, and plenty of yarn! Happy Birthday!

  30. Happy birthday, Carole! Welcome to the Other Side! (It’s not so bad, honestly. And as you’ll see … there is cake and sangria.)

  32. Happy Birthday Carole! My goodness, Dale is a good writer. Perhaps he should consider blogging too.
    How sweet of him to post for you. Have a great B-day dinner!

  34. Here’s to a very Happy Birthday Carole! Wow, that was a wonderful post by Dale!! I hope you have a magnificent time tonight celebrating your special day with family & friends.

  36. You don’t have a clue who I am but I have been following your blog for quite a while. I check it daily and I was drawn to it because I knit and I quilt and I love New England even though I live in Wyoming. You seem like the kind of person I would love to call a friend. My husband grew up in Needham, MA and his family is all in the area. I want to wish you a very Happy 50th Birthday. I passed that awhile ago and it is nothing to worry about. Your attitude about it is perfect. Enjoy!

    Naomi Stone

  38. Happiest of happy birthdays, Carole! I hope it will be filled with laughter, loved ones, and tasty treats. May the next half-century be even better than the first!

  43. Happy birthday to a very talented and loving person who has a husband who is just the same. What a great pair!

  45. I hope you have the happiest of birthdays! It has been wonderful sharing even just a little of your life, from afar. Just think, a good thing about 50 is you are that much closer to retirement, when you can do even more of those many things you love!

  46. Happy Birthday! I remember fifty and I remember 9-21-65! ( I was a junior in high school and already a knitter). I read your blog daily, bur don’t think I have ever commented. I enjoy all you have to say – thanks and again – Happy Birthday, sweet girl.

  48. Great post by your guest blogger. A very, very happy 50th birthday! But 60 is even better. 🙂

  50. Happy Birthday from one of the MANY readers/followers/admirers…50 isn’t that old (said the 54 year old) 🙂 It’s all good – keep smiling!

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