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Attorney Tom OlsenSome Thoughts On Turning 50
Attorney Tom Olsen
When I turned 40, my life seemed to change literally at the stroke of midnight (see my thoughts about turning 40). Turning 50 has been composed of more gradual changes, as well as some old and new lessons on life.
I turned 50 on January 6, 2006. The celebration began the prior September when my oldest friends and I went down the middle fork of the Salmon River in Idaho. There were eight of us, three guides with rafts and gear and 4 duckies (inflatable kayaks). We took turns in the duckies going through lots of class 2, class 3 and even a class 4 rapid. Whoever fell out of the duckie first that day had to be the bartender that night. Beautiful weather and scenery, campfires, great food, lots of laughing and telling stories of that day's and past adventures together. I am blessed to have friends like this. The lesson learned is that, in our busy lives, it takes planning to get so many friends together, especially when it's on a river in the middle of Idaho. But it's well worth it and I want to make it happen more often.
My 50th birthday was on a Friday. As is tradition, my brother Bob came by my office to take me to lunch. My wife, Judi, was at my office (nothing unusual about that). I walked out to the lobby to leave for lunch when Judi stopped me and asked me to see some new plants that she had put in the conference room. I opened the door and was COMPLETELY SURPRISED by a party with the lawyers and staff at my office. I never saw it coming, didn't have a clue. We had a nice lunch and I received some funny and appropriate gifts: a bottle of Geritol, a membership to AARP, Jimmy Buffet's "A Pirate Looks at 50". The lesson learned for me was that, even at 50, I can still be completely surprised (and I'll take more please).
I literally turned 40 while paddling down the Econ River in East Orange County. The day after I turned 50, it was time to paddle the Econ again as part of the 10th Annual Sunday After Christmas Paddle Down the Econ. I put on the water at about 5:30 PM (one hour of daylight left) with my buddy, Steve R. We were going to a campsite that I only knew the general vicinity of and where others would meet us later that night and the next day. I asked Steve if he could spot the campsite in the dwindling daylight and he assured me that he could. You guessed it; we missed it, passed it, turned around and couldn't find it. We paddled on to the big oak campsite and had a great night next to the fire, with temperatures in the low 30's. Steve M. joined us. Judi had made a pot of chili that only needed to be heated up and tasted so good on a cold night. The lesson for me: even routine things can still be a challenge and, as one of my favorite proverbs goes, "A life without challenge is no life at all".
The next morning, still on the Econ River, Steve R. and I took an early morning paddle back into a slough that I have seen many times but never explored. It looked like a dead end, but we fought our way through low branches. Suddenly it opened up into a small lake that was completely covered in bright green pond weed. The sun was shining bright and warm now. We were only a few hundred feet from a place that I had often been and, yet, here was a whole other world that I had never seen or explored before. My lesson: never forget that newness can be discovered even in common and routine things.
A few weeks after my 50th birthday, Judi gave me another surprise birthday party. OK, this time the cat was out of the bag, but I didn't know who would be there, what the entertainment would be, etc. The party was on a Saturday night and, so that they could get the house ready, Judi sent Steve B., Jorge B and me to the Canyon Ranch Spa for the day. Yes, we relaxed and had a massage while the ladies worked hard. I have to admit that I was nervous that day thinking about walking into a room full of people and being the center of attention. However, when we came home from the spa and I saw so many of my oldest and closest friends the fear vanished and the love poured over me. Wonderful friends, great food and lots of presents, I loved it. Thank you Judi for making it happen, I'll never forget it.
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