Birthdays have never been that big of a deal for me. 

Oh, I’m sure I probably enjoyed them until the time I was 10 or so, but, to me in 2024, a birthday is just another day on the calendar. “You are the age you are,” has always been a favorite saying of mine.

To be completely honest though, birthdays in recent years have been tougher. I’ve already surpassed the big 5-0. Heck, I am officially 53 now. At times it doesn’t seem possible. Other times it seems like I am even older than my years.

Recent years have brought the loss of loved ones. That is actually what I think most about, certainly more so than my current age. Knowing the older I get it means family members from previous generations and friends will be lost. It has been 35 years since I graduated high school and we have already lost two members of our small class.

It’s all a part of life I know but still tough to wrap my head around. 

I have tried to look at age 53 as simply another birthday. No bigger a deal than turning 31 or 21. Without a doubt, one is no longer young at this age. I am middle-aged (at best) for sure and getting closer to being described with that adjective  “old.” Carefree days of youth, while in reality long since departed, are officially in the rear view mirror now.

My birthday is always close to Memorial Day on the calendar and I spent more time being appreciative for those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for myself and our country. I dedicated my entire column to someone just like that in last week’s space in our Memorial Day section this past weekend.

In so many ways, my mind still thinks I’m a teenager, still in school, still hanging with my friends and still worrying about things that don’t really matter.

When I remind myself that so many of those childhood friends now have teenagers or grown children themselves, it makes me wonder how in the world I’ve reached this point. It doesn’t seem possible. Wasn’t it us a couple of years ago roaming the halls at our school, playing sports, hanging out on the weekend, enjoying every minute of life?

How has all of that been replaced by jobs, paying bills, an overload of stress and the realization that those carefree times have indeed long since slipped away?

It helps to think about the things I am blessed with as I turn this historic page. Family support when that is not always guaranteed for everyone. Friends I would do anything for and, in return, I feel they would do the same for me.

It’s not a large group of friends I have because friendship is not something everyone appreciates or even understands.

So what is it about being 53 that gives me a punch in the stomach at times? Realizing that my life is well more than half over could be it. Or it could be the knowing that you truly look old to those who are young. Or perhaps realizing this year’s senior class was not even close to being born when you finished high school. Ouch.

Birthday parties, by the time you reach this age, are long gone. For me, it’s usually a quiet night at home with a favorite movie that I’ve seen at least 50 times. It’s about trying to relax, if only for one evening.

The sun will come up the day after this milestone. People turn 53 all the time, every day and without notice. Do I feel I’m wiser at this age? In some respects I do. However, there’s plenty I still don’t know and plenty I will never know, even if I make it another 53 years, which I won’t.

Birthdays aren’t a big deal unless you make them into one. No doubt being past 50 is light years from being 18. Yet, I’m not so old that I still can’t remember being young. While nothing about me is “young” anymore, the ability remember back to a time when I was, is still working just fine.

I have found personal and prefessional satisfaction in the past years being back in a newsroom on a full-time basis for the first time in almost several years. I’ve gotten to the point now where it seems I never left. 

The enjoyment of putting another issue “to bed” and seeing the printed product once it returns from the press is still satisfying.

So here’s to yet another trip around the sun and enjoying the beauty that comes with every new day. It’s true you appreciate the little things more when you reach this age like a nap and the beauty of the blue, summer sky in Georgia. Perhaps being 53 won’t be such a big deal. I’ve convinced myself that with the right attitude, it’s no different than turning 23. 

Chris Bridges is the managing editor of The Walton Tribune. Email comments about this column to chris.bridges@waltontribune.com.