Reasons to be Thankful for Hitting 40
It’s not all about the midlife crisis! Here’s a list of reasons why turning 40 is a good thing.
It’s my birthday next month and it’s the big 4-0. I’m not quite sure how it’s happened but apparently you don’t stay a thirty-something forever. (And there goes my selling point…)
I think I’ve spent the entire past year making peace with the fact I’m gonna be a forty year old, which by no means hasn’t been easy. To be honest, I’ve dreaded it. Don’t they say life goes downhill from here?
Well, once I’m past the “crap, I’m old!” hysteria, I can see that it doesn’t really mean much at all. I’m still goofy me. Some (kids) might say I’m not far off pushing up daisies, but it turns out turning forty means some pretty cool facts.
So here’s eight reasons why stepping into my fourth decade is really a good thing.
- 40 is the new 30
If fifty’s the new forty, forty must be the new thirty. I quite enjoyed being a thirty-something so if that’s anything to go by, I’m in for a pretty sweet decade. There’s still plenty time for new interests, new career paths and family time. Whether I have more kids or not, I think I’m a pretty cool mum to one little dude.
2. A birthday blow out
Adult birthdays can be pretty mundane, but hitting a milestone like the big 4-0 requires a fancy-pants present and spectacular helium balloon showmanship. So I’d quite like a pretty, blingy ring, please!
3. I was made for now
Would I have made it to 40 had I been born in previous generations? Childbirth requiring intervention? Likely not. Unmedicated hypothyroidism? Very likely not. And don’t get me started on dental surgery. A hundred years ago I doubt I’d have made it this far.
4. A distant youth
I have lovely childhood memories but puberty was a time I could happily forget. Then there was the physical assault when I left school that changed my path forever. Life sucked. Thankfully turning forty means I’m further away from the rubbish stuff of the past.
5. Forever 80s baby
I may not be down with the kids now, but turning forty means I’m a child of the eighties and old enough to remember the best of kids TV. Funhouse, Raggy Dolls, Bananaman. And I knew how to live life before the internet — knocking about round the estate, scrubbing knees raw at the park before anyone cared about health and safety. Now that was a childhood!
6. Hello peri-menopause
While it’s not strictly connected to turning forty, I have a feeling I’m on the cusp of the pre-menopausal season of life. I’m at that junction. As much as I’d like them not to stop for obvious fertility reasons, if I’m never to conceive again at least it’ll mean the bane of my life aka: painful periods will begin to draw to an end. Fewer painful periods ahead than I’ve endured sounds good to me.
7. I’m still standing
Reaching this point in my life means that whatever has tried to reduce me, hasn’t beaten me. Assault. Fear. Anxiety. Depression. Attempted suicide. Life remains a challenge but I’m glad that even when I reach my lowest, I pull through.
“The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5. There’s a reason I’m still standing at this time in my life and for that blessing you’ve got to be thankful.
8. Forever Young(est)
If all else fails and I do end up crying into my tea come the morn of my big birthday, there is this: I’ll always be the youngest of sisters who hit the milestone well before me. Ah… nothing like some good old sibling banter to keep you young, hey!
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