This Is 40
As I head into my fifth decade on this planet, I have a bone to pick!
I’m about to turn 40 and I think it’s pretty cool. I’ve seen a bunch of places, I’ve lived a bunch life, I’ve accomplished at least a few things! The knowledge and understanding I’ve gained in my 40 years of experiences is the kind that can only happen over years of, frankly, fucking up. And winning, I should also honor all of the winning that I’ve done too but, no matter how it came to be or how it turned out, every experience is a nugget of information that you take into the next. I’m feeling smarter all the time!
But an interesting thing has been happening as I approach this birthday and it sounds a lot like this:
Me: “I’m turning 40 this summer”
Them: “Oh, no, I’m sorry, that must feel really hard. How are you doing with it?”
I’m not terribly surprised by this reaction in general but the number of times that I’ve heard it really has me down. Is age really THAT big of a fear to SO many people? To me this is like telling someone that you’re sorry they got a promotion or that they passed a test. I’ve worked damn hard to get through these 40 years so far, it’s been far from easy for a lot more of it than I’d care to admit but I’ve made it and I plan to continue making it!
How am I doing with it? I’ll be honest, I’m pretty impressed with myself! I’m generally healthy, I own my own business, I still regularly walk around in pretty impressive high heels, my home and business are covered in cool art, I talk about sex professionally, and I skinnydipped a pool floating on a giant inflatable unicorn with a bunch of friends on various other silly floaties, whilst having cocktails for a week THIS summer! So, if this is 40, I’m doing great with it!
Now, here’s my bone, why don’t we say congratulations as people age? We all do it, if we are alive, we are getting older. In fact, we’re winning at life every day just by doing it! Why live in the past and dwell on what was or what you wish had been when every moment is an opportunity to learn and grow into a more and more amazing, intelligent, beautiful, perfect human. We only have these moments once, so congratulations for making it through as many moments as you have. Here’s to many many more of them!
Now grab that inflatable unicorn by the horn and live your best life, at EVERY age.
