An Ode to Turning 40
40. I really can not believe i’m 40. Most days I feel 20, then I look around and see the 4 children that live at my house and think, no, I can’t be 20.
I had lots of friends tell me that they breezed through 40. That it’s just a number. That they LOVE their 40’s. That they were excited to be 40. That it was no big deal.
I am not one of those people. I’ve dreaded this birthday since I turned 35. I’ve tried not to think about it and pretend it wasn’t coming. But here it is.
Daniel asked me months ago what I wanted to do for my birthday. And I decided I wanted to have several small celebrations with different friend groups. This shows me I’m getting older- because at 20, I would have said “throw me a massive party!”.
But I LOVED getting to have quality time with people I love all throughout the month. I had a girl spa weekend with my mom, sister, and sister-in-law. I had a surprise party with my neighborhood girlfriends, I did a girls night in the city eating our way down the Beltline in Atlanta with 3 dear friends, I’m having a girls weekend with my college friends next weekend, I celebrated with Daniel and the kids (Saint graduated from Kindergarten on my actual birthday!)… it was just a really fun month and it softened the blow of the big dreaded birthday.
But now that I’m just able to sit and process 40, because it really DID happen, I can think about what I appreciate about getting older.
*I’ll go ahead and admit my vanity- I love it when people say I don’t look 40. There I said it. And I can thank my mother and grandmother for good skin genes!
*All four kids arrived in between ages 29-35. Which means my 30’s were very exciting but also not my own. I’m very thankful for more time!
*On that same topic- all 4 kids are potty trained and can swim. Hallelujah!
*Last year I got my certification to become a personal trainer and I’m currently finishing my nutrition certification. I started working again for the first time in 10 years. So I’m excited to see where all of that takes me in my 40’s!
*I struggled in the past with knowing what I want and what I like and being confident in expressing those things. Look out 40’s- I’m learning to break out of that!
*ive done so much therapy and personal work in my 30’s and I’m hopeful to live out what I’ve learned in my 40’s!
*A new decade brings all new things- we’ll have 4 teenagers at once! And i’m excited to see what this decade holds- once I get over saying the word 40!!
*Cheers to 40 years of LIFE!
Here’s a few pictures of my month of celebrating haha!
