# It's official: I'm in my fourth Decade. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 27, 2006, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-im-in-my-fourth-decade/381945 "2006-11-27T15:38:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-im-in-my-fourth-decade/381945/1 "2006-11-27T15:38:03Z")
I am 40 today. Where did my 30’s go? ---
**Author:** ![scareyfaerie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scareyfaerie/32/3135_2.png) [@scareyfaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scareyfaerie)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-im-in-my-fourth-decade/381945/2 "2006-11-27T15:41:07Z")
[QUOTE=Shirley Ujest] I am 40 today. [/QUOTE] Many happy returns! When’s the party? ---
**Author:** ![Arien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arien)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-im-in-my-fourth-decade/381945/3 "2006-11-27T15:41:26Z")
Sorry to kick you when you’re down, but aren’t you in your fifth decade now? 0-10: 1st decade 10-20: 2nd 20-30: 3rd 30-40: 4th 40- present: 5th Um, happy birthday, though! 40 isn’t old at all! ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-im-in-my-fourth-decade/381945/4 "2006-11-27T15:42:25Z")
Happy birthday! The good news is – you’re probably still 4 or 5 years away from needing reading glasses; and at least 10 from receiving your first AARP solicitation letter. The bad news is – having [del]wrinkles[/del] smile lines does not make you immune from getting zits. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-im-in-my-fourth-decade/381945/5 "2006-11-27T15:44:28Z")
Baby, I hate to be the one to tell you but you’re in your _fifth_ decade. First= age one to ten. Second= age ten to twenty. Third= age twenty to thirty. Fourth= age thirty to forty. Fifth= age forty to fifty. If it helps, I started my seventh this year, and I can still walk and talk. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-im-in-my-fourth-decade/381945/6 "2006-11-27T15:44:34Z")
c Happy Birthday Shirley b Welcome to 40. I achieved this unexpected and all too swift Goal in September. As far as your thirties, do you have kids? That is guaranteed to make your thirties disappear far quicker than any prior decade. 😉 Jim ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-im-in-my-fourth-decade/381945/7 "2006-11-27T15:44:45Z")
[QUOTE=Arien] Sorry to kick you when you’re down, but aren’t you in your fifth decade now? 0-10: 1st decade 10-20: 2nd 20-30: 3rd 30-40: 4th 40- present: 5th Um, happy birthday, though! 40 isn’t old at all! [/QUOTE] Actually 0- **9** =1st decade, 10- **19** =2nd decade… ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-im-in-my-fourth-decade/381945/8 "2006-11-27T15:46:42Z")
Well, I had lasik a couple of years ago and now one eye is my ‘reading’ eye and the other is my ‘distance’ eye. So, when aging issues happen to my eyes, all I’ll need is a monocle. Ala Colonel Klink. Oh, and when I was a teen I received an AARP letter. Yay for old fashioned names. Excuse me, I’m behind on my Old People Cliches: **Get Off Mah Lawn!** ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-im-in-my-fourth-decade/381945/9 "2006-11-27T15:48:40Z")
Wow, we really piled on quickly, there were 0 replies when I started writing. **Canadjun** , of course, you’re correct, but, give the girl a break! 😃 Happy Birthday, **Shirley**! ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-im-in-my-fourth-decade/381945/10 "2006-11-27T15:48:42Z")
Ok, I’m in my 5th decade, but I’m doing the metric system for birthdays. I also have just passed my Aunt, who has been 39 for over 30 years. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-im-in-my-fourth-decade/381945/11 "2006-11-27T15:50:30Z")
Hey, if getting piled on on my 40th birthday-5th decade ain’t all that bad. ( I haven’t been piled on in years.) ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-im-in-my-fourth-decade/381945/12 "2006-11-27T15:50:35Z")
_A chiropractic hug for Shirley_ ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-im-in-my-fourth-decade/381945/13 "2006-11-27T16:20:23Z")
Welcome to your fifth decade. Prepare to learn a lot about Exercise and Healthy Living and all that stuff. Oh, and Reading Glasses. I was dismayed to discover that having extreme myopia does _not_ eliminate the need for reading glasses. I was hoping that the far-distancing of my vision as I aged would offset some of my myopia, but no such luck. I now wear reading glasses over my contact lenses. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-im-in-my-fourth-decade/381945/14 "2006-11-27T16:21:30Z")
Oh, and Happy Birthday! ---
**Author:** ![mrklutz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@mrklutz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrklutz)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-im-in-my-fourth-decade/381945/15 "2006-11-27T16:25:22Z")
Happy birthday, and welcome to the legion of Cranky Old Folks. \*And you know that you’re over the hill When your mind makes a promise that your body can’t fill Doin’ the old folks boogie And boogie we will 'Cause to us the thought’s as good as a thrill \* – Little Feat ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-im-in-my-fourth-decade/381945/16 "2006-11-27T16:31:00Z")
Happy Birthday, from one old lady to another. I turned 42 just last week. Wanna swig of my Geritol? Goes down real smooth with some Jack Daniel’s. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-im-in-my-fourth-decade/381945/17 "2006-11-27T16:49:20Z")
I also passed that mark in September. Brainiac4 threw me a party. Two words- martini luge. The nice thing about a party at 40 is that no one thinks a 24 pack of Leine’s and a bag of Ruffles makes a party. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-im-in-my-fourth-decade/381945/18 "2006-11-27T16:55:01Z")
[musical interlude] Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! You’re over the hill now, So how is the view? [/musical interlude] Happy Birthday and may you enjoy many more. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-im-in-my-fourth-decade/381945/19 "2006-11-27T16:55:09Z")
Just keep your chins up and try not to dwell on the fact that [Nobody Loves a Fairy When She’s Forty](http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/n/nobodylovesafairywhenshesforty.shtml). ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-im-in-my-fourth-decade/381945/20 "2006-11-27T17:10:47Z")
Nobody loves a fairy when she’s forty. Does this mean that I have to take off the pouf skirt, wings and put down my magic wand now or does it give me permission to dress like some insane bag lady ( redundancy)? It doesn’t help that last night we watched for the first time a long lost and forgotten VHS home video of one of our first trips. We sat there wondering where in the hell we were watching this and had a good laugh at what we use to be. (He had hair and we both curved inward.) The camera seemed to focus alot on what use to be my bottom ( its still in there, Mr. Ujest has said, its just insulated.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-im-in-my-fourth-decade/381945.md?page=2)