Today is kind of a red letter day for me.
It’s my 40th birthday.
Yeah, yeah. Go ahead. Fling a few “over the hill” jokes at me. Try to tell me that 40 is the new 30, but I don’t think my knees made this nifty creaking sound when I was 30.
When I turned 30, I had a 3 year old daughter and I was pregnant with my son. My daughter will turn 13 tomorrow and my son just finished third grade.
We were living in Virginia, now we’re in Missouri and we’ve moved twice in between. We had a Boxer named Yukon, now we have a Boxer named Oliver.
I was still working on the “mom” thing and didn’t have a thought in my head about writing. Now, I’ve got four stories published and one contracted.
A few other things have changed, too. I used to wear cute bras. Now they’re designed by structural engineers for heavy load bearing. My ass used to be on my ass, not the back of my thighs. And the one gray hair I found when I was 30 has turned into, well, lots more.
But change is the only certainty in life. I wonder what the next ten years will bring?
Happy Birthday Sela!!! I hope all your wishes come true!
Happy birthday! 40 is fabulous—my 40s have been the best time of my life.
Happy Birthday! I just turned 49 recently and am looking at 50! I can tell you with certainty that although aging is not easy on the body it is wonderful to the open minded woman. Wisdom comes with age. Believe it. Looking back is great. Memories! Family! Friends! Children! Pets! The experiences that made you who you are and hopefully most women become happier with themselves as they age. Once again, aging is not easy on the body, but the mind is ever expanding. Don’t regret aging, look forward to great experiences to learn and grow even further than you can imagine. Celebrate every day!
I, too, am about to turn 49, just a year away from another milestone. What I can say for certain is that time flies the older you get and I know I’m a must stronger person than I was when I was thirty.
Happy Birthday to YOU!
I’m coming up hard on your heels, honey, you have to show me how it’s done with grace cause I think I’m going to melt on that day.
Happy Birthday, Sela!
Thanks, everyone! It’s been a really great day. 40 feels pretty good so far!
happy birthday! 40 didn’t phaze me (just hit it myself). 30 didn’t even make me blink. My problem (and it was a big one) was with 33… somehow, that was it for me. All I could think was that was the age Jesus was when he died and now I was old enough to die! The whole year I was freaked out about that. I didn’t wanna be old enough to die!
Funny, sad, and all too true.
Happy 40th, Sela!
My 40’s have been both good and bad. Yes, gravity is taking its toll, my knees are creakier, too, but I know myself better than ever before-and I didn’t get published until I was in my 40’s! You absolutely have positive stuff to look forward to (and why, as a writer, I can’t find a more effective word than ‘stuff’ tonight I don’t know!).
I’m only a little over a year away from 50, so I’ll report back to you then-lol!
Lainey, I was too busy with kids to even remember 33! LOL! Glad you made it past.
Thanks again, everyone! Honestly, now that I’m an experienced 40 yr old, I can look back — that one day makes a huge difference, y’know — and say that the transition hasn’t bothered me.
Last night’s margarita helped a lot!
Happy Birthday, Sela!
I’m turning 40 this year, too. Glad to be in such wonderful company!
Pass the margaritas!
Happy 40th, Sela! I’m 34, and I was feeling a bit long in the tooth since I went back to college last year. Everyone else seems so young, and when they groan about turning 25… but it’s all a matter of perspective, isn’t it?