Today is my 50th birthday. I can’t believe I’m typing those words. I cannot believe I am that old. I gotta admit it is hitting me pretty hard.
What am I even doing with my life?
I am definitely not where I thought I would be at this stage in my existence. I am not the man I imagined I’d become.
Have I lived my best life?
It hasn’t been a bad life. I’ve done a fair bit of traveling, seen a few amazing things, made some great friends, and created a loving family. I own a house and have filled it with the things I love. I’ve never been hungry, etc.
There are things I’ve failed at and mistakes I’ve made that find me in the dark hours of the evening and make me shiver. This last decade has been difficult. Covid, work stresses, loss of church, declining health, and I don’t really have any real-life friends. But I have a great wife and an insanely amazing daughter, a job, and plenty of real-life comforts. I can’t complain. Not really.
Then there is this blog. I’ve been writing it for 22 years. That’s nearly half my life. That’s unbelievable. Like me, it has gone through many changes. It has had its ups and downs. But it has been one of the few stable things for most of my adult life. That’s amazing.
My readers were very generous to me when I was sharing music. I appreciate that very much. I know writing about movies and pop culture isn’t the same. I know most of the folks who enjoyed my music sharing are less interested in what I’m doing now.
Still, this isn’t nothing, and I hope it is maybe worth something to some of you. So I’m going to put up a little PayPal link. If you enjoy my writing and think it is worth some monetary value, I’d appreciate anything you can give. I don’t expect much; I’ll probably get nothing. I’ll eventually put a link in the sidebar and let it just sit. But for now it is going at the very bottom of this page.
Whether you give or not, I appreciate anyone who comes by, likes, and comments. Here’s to another 50 years of life and many more years of this blog.
If you want to give please click here.
And for those interested, the picture if all the gifts my wife gave me. I’ve been on a comic book kick lately so I got lots of those, plus a couple of silly movies.
themidnightcafe.org 
What a moment! 50 years. I am older than that, so I get it – it’s a big one. Happy birthday Mat.
It’s hard to make it through the world and accomplish all one would like to. Like, REALLY hard. You are making a difference by being a son, husband, dad, and more – and by giving the world this blog!
I hope this year holds some happy surprises for you in the months ahead!
Thanks Noel. I’ve had a good life. Better than many. And I am grateful. But yeah, it is hard sometimes not to get down about all the things I’ve wanted to do an have not accomplished.
But I aim to do better. I’m hoping to make some changes this year to point things in a better directions. Huzzah for that.