Yep. In three months I hit the Big Four Oh, and it’s been on my mind a lot.
I keep subliminally thinking things like: there’s some kind of mistake… I don’t deserve this… just when I’m getting my act together, it’s too late to take it on the road… my chances at the dating game, especially if I want to meet someone and someday have kids with them, will be nil…
Okay, I grant that a lot of that’s just my inbuilt negativity talking. One friend said the the forties are the best time, because you get to do what you want to do…
Oh, pah. I’ve been forty for months now. It’s just another date.
I suppose people who don’t know me very well look at my age and imagine that I’m a mature and responsible individual. But that’s the only difference it’s made.
And I’ve been doing a whole lot better at the dating game lately, but I’d ascribe that just to luck, rather than my age.
Technically it’s the last year of your thirties, so you’re not officially in your forties yet. It’s the last carefree year you’re going to have.
It’s when you hit forty-one and the warranty on your body expires that you really need to worry about.
–43-year-old Dr. Rieux:D
Well, from my perspective, one of the best things about turning forty is that you’ve still got ten years to go before you’re fifty.
Seriously, during my forties I came to feel that I’d finally started to be pretty good at what I do and was finally seeing my choice of career become rewarding. It was also during my forties that I became accepting of the fact that life was probably going to work out such that I’ll not be a parent.
Cruising into middle age saw many of my anxieties about what path my life would take melt away. I remember having a conversation with Scotticher at a Dopefest a year or so ago during which it occured to me that, while I hope to put in a few more frolicking decades, I could probably come to grips with imminent death, because I feel like I’ve already lived a life. I hope that makes sense.
As my then ~85 year old stepmom said when listening to someone moan about turning 60, “What’s he bitchin’ about? He’s still got 20 or 30 years left!”
Forty was a breeze for me! Everything is good about the 40s. I think most women look better in their 40s. I dunno, their faces gain a certain degree of character. The career chase can slow down a bit. The kids are growing up, offering you more freedom. You can afford stuff that you couldn’t ten years ago. It’s all good.
For me, the 40s have been the best decade of my life by far, not that the 20s or 30s really sucked, but everything seemed to take a turn for the better just after I turned 40. I think I am more relaxed and more sure of myself at 42 than when I was younger.
And besides, I met my [sub]young hunk of a[/sub] husband the year I turned 40. So no matter what you think, it isn’t too late.
Wrinkles, yeah that’s it, wrinkles are whats good about turning 40. And the insomnia that comes from being woken up by a hot flash - yeah, that’s good too. And the profuse sweating every time I even look at alchohol. Yeah, that’s a laugh riot. And let’s not forget the increase in the number of people who call you ma’am, yeah, that’s like really cool. And the fact that my tattoo turns 20 this year is just an added bonus!!
But really, 9 months into 40, I gotta say that I am feeling for the most part ok about it. I admit to being 35 in public and if people don’t believe me, they at least don’t question me on it.
I enjoyed my 20’s and the fact that I was a wild woman then. I enjoyed that my 30’s were filled with some great travel and some great sex and some good relationships. I know that my 40’s will be filled with tons of new stuff for me and despite the fact that I don’t feel 40, my 20’s and 30’s have prepared me for some good stuff (I hope) and I am looking ofrward to living my 40’s on my terms - which in part means remaining 35 for as long as possible.
If you’re female, real soon you won’t have to worry about all that completely irritating menstrual cr@p, or birth control. Yee-hah! And as for as the side effects of menopause, there are drugs for those. There has never been a better time to be 40+. Or 50+.
I’m only 32, but I would think that the best part of turning 40 is that people are more likely to believe you when they ask your age. You will probably get a lot less “39, right…” looks.
It’s just a number. Y2K is just a number. Hell, I got back in to playing in a band and writing songs again after not doing it for nearly 10 years. The good thing is, Im writing louder, faster music than I did when I was younger. Go figure…
An Arky
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