Today is my 40th birthday and I can honestly say I’ve never been more excited about an age than this one. I feel like my 20s were a time where I was constantly soul searching, my 30s I was too busy and overwhelmed having babies so today on my 40th birthday, I feel like this is truly who I’m suppose to be. It’s like a rebirth and I’m letting go of all the insecurities and “what if’s” because I’ve never been more in touch with who I truly am and it is so liberating.
I also think the best thing about getting older is knowing what is important in life. Your kids health, your marriage and all that really matters is this beautiful family that you have created. I’m old enough to know that tangible things don’t matter (even though I do love a nice pair of shoes, after all I’m only human) and at the end of the day, an unprompted hug from one of my kids or a “you’re the best mommy” really is what makes my heart happy.
Today I still feel like the same teenage girl who used to drive around country roads in her 1985 VW cabriolet, blasting Fast Car by Tracy Chapman and if I had one piece of advice to give to her, it would be this; you will never be younger than you are today, so you must embrace every possible opportunity that is presented to you. Forgive, stay true to your heart, don’t sweat the small stuff and a party with 10 amazing friends is way better than a party with 100 not so amazing friends.
I’m going to end this post with an excerpt by one of my favorite TV personalities of all time; Andy Rooney.
“As I grow in age, I value women who are over forty most of all. Here are just a few reasons why: A woman over forty will never wake you in the middle of the night to ask, What are you thinking? She doesn’t care what you think.
If a woman over forty doesn’t want to watch the game, she doesn’t sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do. And, it’s usually something more interesting.
A woman over forty knows herself well enough to be assured in who she is, what she is, what she wants and from whom. Few women past the age of forty give a hoot what you might think about her or what she’s doing.
Women over forty are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course, if you deserve it, they won’t hesitate to shoot you, if they think they can get away with it.
Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what it’s like to be unappreciated.
A woman over forty has the self-assurance to introduce you to her women friends. A younger woman with a man will often ignore even her best friend because she doesn’t trust the guy with other women. Women over forty couldn’t care less if you’re attracted to her friends because she knows her friends won’t betray her.
Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a woman over forty. They always know.
A woman over forty looks good wearing bright red lipstick. This is not true of younger women. Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over forty is far sexier than her younger counterpart.
Older women are forthright and honest. They’ll tell you right off if you are a jerk, if you are acting like one! You don’t ever have to wonder where you stand with her.
Yes, we praise women over forty for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it’s not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed hot woman of forty-plus, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some twenty-two-year-old waitress.
Ladies, I apologize.
For all those men who say, ‘Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free,’ here’s an update for you. Now 80 percent of women are against marriage, why? Because women realize it’s not worth buying an entire pig, just to get a little sausage.”
