Life is a little sweeter when you live it with passion and humor over 50. Let me begin by saying: Be positively passionate about your life. Weather your valleys and inhale your mountains. Seek out people who are happy campers and humorous.

One of my close friends, Sue, emailed me at the beginning of the week asking, “Why don’t you write a blog on having a sense of humor?” I immediately smiled at the upbeat story idea and wrote her back saying, “I will add humor to my Friday story.”

I needed time to think.

It is a known fact that we have entered this passage of life called, aging. All of us face change and with it comes challenges, but it is not all bad. Change is great and challenges can feed us wonderful joys.

How can we add humor? Dear readers of mine, you know the answer as well as I do – It is all about attitude.

The last few days, I observed how I spent my time. While it was filled with both highlights and lowlights (and I do not mean my hair!), I continued to live my life upbeat. I laughed and smiled through the woes.

I put everything into perspective by looking for the positive in each situation. I refuse to see black. Instead I see my woes as grey, the middle of black and white. I always see the glass half full.

These were a few of the unpleasant situations I faced:

1. My girlfriend that I care dearly for is very worried about an x-ray she had taken. I feel sad because she is scared, so I tried to show her how to view the situation as “grey.” I think it made her feel better and it lifted my spirits, as well. It is all about attitude.
2. My grand, Michael, is suffering from a severe concussion after a football injury and has not recovered. He is in a famed concussion hospital for five days of testing. He has written two messages to family and friends, explaining his situation and thanking them for their support. I posted his messages to my Honey Good Facebook. He has been having seizures from his concussion, but it has been determined he does not have epilepsy.  My heart tells me he will recover. It is all about attitude.
3. I had an unpleasant medical procedure and while the ordeal is not over, I did not procrastinate when it came to my health. I was proactive facing the situation head on and I will be fine. I saw grey. It is all about attitude.
4. My bathroom sink overflowed after I left the water running to answer the door. I did not know the drain was clogged. (Don’t ask!) I did not see grey, but that’s humor, dear readers. It is all about attitude.
5. My husband Shelly, my pooch Orchid and I were in a taxi cab accident. My husband  still has a black eye and cuts on his face. I immediately said, “You are lucky. You did not lose your eye.” My positivity made him smile and feel a sense of relief. It is all about attitude.

And so it continues on and on and on, just like our lives.

This is my philosophy for keeping humor, laughter and smiles, alive and well.  

How to live with passion and humor over 50

• You will not age if you don’t let your spirit age.
• You have the freedom to accomplish your dreams. Your children have their own lives, so concentrate on your endeavors and you will laugh, smile and discover humor along the way.
• You have emotional freedom. You do not have to prove yourself to anyone any longer, and you are not stuck doing what other people expect of you.
• Most women our age are no longer in love with their bodies, so fall in love with your mind.
• Do not carry grudges. Let go.
• Say yes to everything.
• Take a hot shower each morning. I always mention that I do my best thinking in the shower. One of my daily thoughts: Pretend each drop of water is a blessing. Be grateful.

Our lives are all about: Attitude! Attitude! Attitude!

Yesterday as I walked through the revolving doors at Neiman Marcus, I was in a bit of a funk thinking about my grandson, Michael.

I needed mascara and on my way through the store I saw salespeople who knew me by my first name. While I was not in the best frame of mind, I hugged some, waved to others and gave a big smile to all. When I left the store I had a smile on my face, remembering our short, but upbeat conversations filled with wonderful humor.

Sometimes we have to fake our attitude to live a passionate life. It only benefits you.

Say yes to life. Stay in love. Remember, you have choices. Be engaged with people who have a sense of humor. Be passionate about your life. Work on it everyday. I do and I promise, it works. Have you found it difficult to keep passion and humor over 50?