It's Not So Bad Turning Forty!

The Joys of Turning 40

As I am turning 40 this weekend, I thought that it would be fitting to write something along those lines. Believe me all you twenty and thirty something's, it isn't as bad as it seems. Turning forty is great and I surprisingly, am amazingly calm and at peace with this process. I found this poem below floating around on the internet and found it rather fitting.

Fine Chardonnay!

It's hard to believe I'm 39.
But am I aging like fine wine?

They say 39 is the new 25
Could someone please tell that to my thighs.

My make-up free days are a thing of the past.
I just hope my concealer lasts.

What are these grey hairs atop my head.
Tell me Miss Clairol, should I go red?

These lines on my face are beginning to furrow
Soon they'll be deep enough for a rabbit's burrow

But joking and silliness aside
This has been a wonderful ride

So 40 I'm ready, bring what you may
I've decided that I'm a fine Chardonnay!

Ten years ago, when I turned thirty, it was a huge shock for me. Where did the time go? Didn't I just hit twenty one? I don't know if it is the fast paced world we live in, or perhaps we just get busier, and don't see how time slips past us until we reach various milestones in our lives.

Turning thirty was not a great feeling. I felt scared that I was getting old and I hadn't achieved all that had I wanted too. I started checking frantically for a change in my personal appearance, expecting that first wrinkle to suddenly pop out. Physically I still felt twenty one, but why was I already thirty?

Okay, so now as I turn forty, I find myself surprised to realise that I don't seem so worried anymore. I feel more settled than I did ten years ago, and so what if I have a few extra wrinkles/laugh lines, they add character, or so we tell ourselves. I feel more confident and at peace than I did ten years ago. I now have a beautiful, lively and healthy little girl that means the world to me, and I am happy at how my life has progressed. I am no longer as worried what people think and say about me, and have come to realise that it is better to have a few close friends than many acquaintances.

Okay, so there are some drawbacks, the main one being that my body has stiffened (and thickened) somewhat, and I can't do what I could at twenty. Being a teacher of dance and being surrounded by young healthy bodies every day, it tends to remind you that yours is fading slightly.

The other drawbacks - I actually can't think of any right now!

They say that life begins at forty, and I am beginning to see what they mean. Bring it on, I feel totally ready for the next decade.