Cyberamnesia and Turning Forty

So, only 17 months since my last post. I wish I could say that life has been so boring that there was nothing to write about. But you know better. And of course in and amongst the busyness I lost my password. And forgot my username. *sigh* Some things just never change.

(I guess you could say that I was suffering from Cyberamnesia.)

I've been reading some other blogs lately and was inspired to figure out who I was (again) and so have been restored to cyber health. In honor of one of my favorite inspirers I offer a belated 40th birthday post .



Welcome to the other side of the hill!

As you can see, it’s not as bad as all the hype may lead you to believe. I have found that while some things do decline – glasses are almost a given and gravity is NOT your friend – other things improve.

For instance, once I hit forty I made the executive decision that from then on I would choose what was fashionable for me – not the “fashion moguls”. I wanted to be comfortable and still look decidedly female, so I opted not to purchase any of the mud colored, ugly clothes in the stores. I also passed up purchases of the hooker-wear that is so thoughtfully provided in sizes from toddler to XXXXL. I refuse to wear a standard cut t-shirt, stiletto heels, advertising for designers or big name corporations and sleazy feeling fabrics. I love dresses, bright colors, ruffles, shirts that are long enough to cover my seat when I wear pants and silk. I figured I had lived in this body for forty years, I could wear what I like.

Another benefit to being forty was that I could choose what color I wanted for my hair. For the first half of the decade I opted for the natural look, flaunting my new silver tresses. In the second half I listened to the wishes of some family members and went dark, since forty is still so very young. I liked both looks but I kept finding that I liked the color of the roots better than the color from the bottle so now I’m going back natural- white in the front and silver streaked in the back. I figure hey, I’ve earned these puppies, why not let them shine! I can always add a colorful rinse if I’m in the mood.
Maybe I’ll try a flaming red.

The best thing for me about turning forty was that it gave me an excuse to let go of a lot of baggage from my “youth”. After all, I was a grown-up now and not the same person that I was in my teens, twenties or even early thirties. I could finally let go of a lot of old stuff and be the woman that God created me to be. I like her.

I enjoyed my forties. I loosened up, laughed more and stressed less. I tried to focus more on the truly important things and less on the transient stuff that I couldn’t change anyway. Now that I’m over fifty (hang on, the ride is a hoot!), I keep doing the same thing- letting go of the past (I can’t change it), letting go of stress (I'm not in control here so why waste my energies stressing?), laughing more (this is my favorite exercise!) and focusing on what is really important (when I leave this earth, what will I take with me and what kind of legacy will I leave behind?). Yeah, forty was great, but fifty?

Fifty ROCKS!

I hope you enjoy every minute of your forties! See you over the next hill!!