Turning 50: Growing Old is Not for Sissies

Yesterday, October 18th marked a half-century ago that  I came into this world at almost 10 pounds at Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota.


I have lived in a lot of places in 50 years: Minneapolis, Boston, Northern Virginia, Chicago, Iowa, San Antonio, and have studied in Paris and Montpellier, France. I have been married to a fantastic woman for 26 years...

I have two great kids who are now 23 and 19. I can honestly say that even if they were not my kids, I would enjoy being around them.

I have a two year old grandson who is just a joy to be around...

We have had 12 exchange students over the years from Italy, Paraguay, Armenia, France, Brazil, Japan, Thailand, Germany, Chile, Norway, Finland and Portugal...

I got involved in rugby back in 2006 at the ripe old age of 45. I also got involved in doing a rugby-centric blog around the same time. Through playing rugby, I discovered a sport that gave a middle aged guy his smile back...http://nursedude.blog.com/2007/07/11/how-rugby-saved-my-life-and-my-sanity/

Being involved with the Metropolis Rugby Football club in Minneapolis has allowed me to meet and play with some fantastic people.  I even had a chance to play a couple of seasons with my son. While nobody is going to ask me to model swimsuits,  Rugby has also given me an excuse to still hit the gym, because even in Old Boys games, you can still get hurt.

Yesterday on  my 50th Birthday, I had cards, e-mails and Facebook messages from Australia, the UK, France, Portugal, Armenia, Africa, South America...and South Florida. It's pretty humbling that so many people took time out in their day to wish a chunky, greying grandfather a happy birthday. Thanks everybody, from the bottom of my heart, for your love and friendship.