40 is the New 30

Hahahahahahaha, not quite!  I’m ok with that.  Do I think my friends and I are making the most of our 40’s? Hell yeah!  I have a feeling that’s why I know 40’s are not the same as my 30’s.

There’s the obvious, metabolism slows done, random ailments seem to start showing up at a moments notice, the laugh lines are starting to have babies.  I’m definitely tired and let’s just say I don’t bounce back from a fun night quite as easily as I once did.

There’s the not so obvious.  I’ve started to have a deeper appreciation for my life.  I am proud of what I’ve managed to accomplish and I’m shocked that my kids survived their youth, so I’m pretty pleased with those results so far.  Let’s face it, if there was a parenting 101 handbook I didn’t read it.  I no longer worry that someone disagrees with the drink I sent them to school with or the tv show we watched last night.  I have confidence in my choices or at least have stopped fretting over trying to make everyone else happy.  It’s much easier to focus on my family, plus they’re the ones I should’ve been thinking about the whole time!  Why exactly did I let the judgmental glares of others even take up part of my day????  My biggest parking lot concern now is getting through the school parking lot without getting hit by a teen driver, scary but much easier to think about than the glares of the past.

My Forties have brought me pride, guiltless pride which I love!  I’ve become less concerned with what others have accomplished.  It took until my forties but I’ve finally grasped that we all have different abilities, we start with different challenges and benefits and it’s actually a good thing.  It’s not something to use to make myself feel like I have failed or I am a bad parent, friend, employee etc.  It’s really a blessing we all have different talents and stress hits us at different times.  If all my friends were having problems at the same time who would be there to help get everyone on track!?!

Silly but one of the best parts of being 40, is appreciating my body; dimples, veins, ailments and all.  I was forever comparing myself to others when I was younger.  Now I compare myself to me.  This has been a mental and physical change for me.  I think at some point I went from wanting to look good to wanting to feel good about me.  I want to actually feel good in my own skin.  In the past, my brain wanted to look like the models we all compare ourselves to, but I’m gonna go with genetics had a different plan.  Now, I’m happy because I feel good [most days; we all PMS sometimes!], I feel like my confidence shows and my BF just has to smile at me and then I feel like one of Beyoncé’s girls.   You know the ones that run the world;)

So aging has its ups and downs.  I am really enjoying the ups.  Confidence feels good and freedom, well that’s down right liberating.  Funny thing, I’m pretty sure the change wasn’t really how many days I’ve lived as much as learning to change the way I look at my days.  My perspective is probably one of the most powerful things in my day and I can control that!  WOW, just typing that made me start singing the Beyoncé Who Run the World song again:)

At this point I realize it’s not that life isn’t fair, life is life.  Everyone has bad days, devastating ones even.  Everyone also has wonderful days that fill our hearts with joy<3  When things are truly starting to become overwhelming I remind myself of how insanely good my next good day is gonna feel, because its true.  I’ve come to understand and appreciate without the rain I would surely lose my appreciation for the sun.