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If you are 40yo or older, I have a question for you...


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You have finally reached the age where you really don't care what others think about the way you parent, school your children, run your life, etc. You KNOW that what you are doing is right for you and your family and you have the confidence to not let others sway you.

 

Written by a mom who will be 49 :thumbup: tomorrow!!!!

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I'm much wiser.

I'm much more accepting of the things I can't change and less likely to waste energy trying to change it.

I know myself better- my likes, my dislikes, what will upset my digestion, what will make me happy, what will pi** me off.

I know how to take care of myself and care enough to.

I am more able to implement good habits and stick with them.

I am less self obsessed, and much happier because of it.

My priorities are healthier.

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I am finally comfortable with who I am...I don't care if you like who that person is or not.:001_smile: Also, I've now lived through a complete cycle of fashion trends and know that everything in my closet will be "in" again (not that I care if you think I'm "in" :lol:).

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What a neat idea. I will be turning 40 very soon and wm lookingforward to reading your 'final' compliation.

 

Mariann - I was going to tell her to ask you. You are my inspiration for living large over 40. You rock, Big Penguin!!

 

 

OH, Dragon Academy!!!!!!! :001_wub::001_wub::001_wub: You know what's funny? I didn't start living my life UNTIL I WAS 40! I just realized that as I was sitting here doing the math!

 

I think this would be what I have learned:

 

DON'T WAIT TILL YOU'RE FORTY!

THIS IS NOT DRESS REHEARSAL!

THIS IS YOUR LIFE!

 

Which is one of the reasons why I admire Heather and her family......their heart for travel and new experiences.

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I am writing a post for my blog called "40 reasons why 40 is fabulous" so give me your best answers!! Why is being 40 (or older) really great??? :D

 

Because you are experienced enough and confident enough that little things don't rattle you. I've now seen really bad days. I know when a day is not the greatest but still far, far away from the worst that we've survived. And I can look at someone and say that I'm not satisfied with their answer and I need to talk to someone else. Calmly, without antagonism. But also with no intention of backing down.

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Being 40 really bothers a lot of people but I didn't care. Of course I had a 1 month old so I didn't have time to care! I have noticed that physically things are changing. Where did the aches and pains come from? I also noticed the sudden "who give a flying hockey puck what people think" attitude. I will be 42 in a few months and I do what I want and what I think is right. None of my friends homeschool and it bothers them that I do. Do I care? no. They complain about all the crap they dislike about the public schools and ACCEPT some of it as "just part of the problems with the system". Seriously? WOW

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Maybe my answer will not count, because I'm 39 1/3, but I want to concur with these reasons:

 

* I know myself well; I no longer try to do or be what others want me to be

* I have been through a couple of tragedies; a stain on the carpet isn't one of them.

 

And I hope this doesn't sound materialistic, but I'm happy to be at a point where we have a nice home and property, more stability than we had when we were in our 20's and are no longer struggling to cover the basics.

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I love being in my 40's (will be 44 in a couple of months).

*I am so much more comfortable with who I am then I was in my younger days.

*I really don't give a fig what anyone else thinks of my decisions.

*Life experience has made me wiser. I have more experiences to draw on.

*Life is drama free. Things that sent me into a tizzy in my 20's are things that I now realize are not worth the energy. I don't sweat the small stuff (and it is all small stuff).

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At forty-five, I don't worry about whether other people approve of me or agree with me. I can say what I think w/o stressing about other people's opinions. The flip side of this is that I have gotten much better at keeping my mouth SHUT. In my 20s and 30s, I sometimes felt that I had to convince people of my way of thinking if we disagreed. In the last decade, I've realized (finally!) that I don't have to try to convince anyone of my way of thinking. It's not my job to change their minds (not that it was my job before, lol, but I felt compelled to try when I was younger).

 

As several others have said, I no longer judge myself on *other people's* opinions. This is very freeing, b/c it means that I feel comfortable in my own slightly saggy, overweight, out of shape skin. ;-)

 

Once I turned forty (and to a lesser extent at 30), I felt that people took me more seriously than they did in my 20s. I have enough life experience now to "know something." I also have the wisdom now to know that what I *don't* know, and I'm okay with it.

 

Popeye said it best. At 45, "I yam what I yam." ;-)

 

Happily 45,

 

Lisa

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I found a good reason -

 

DH and I will have an empty nest by the time I am 45.

 

DD will leave for college next fall. I will be 40.

DS will be following her 4 years later. I will be 44. That is if he stays at home that long. He wants to attend IMSA and if he goes that route he will be gone in two years and I will be 41.

 

That seems very young to me to be going through that stage of life. I better find something to do with my time.

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"You're right in the middle of life- young enough to remember what is was like to be 20 with boundless energy and excitement, and old enough to know that life is short and that you'd better take advantage of every day!"

 

 

 

:iagree:

Edited by blessed3x
corrected quotes
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I agree with all the positive comments... being 40 (about to turn 41!) has been fabulous. I really know myself. I'm secure in who I am. I stand up for myself and have great boundaries in place for the first time.

 

I love LIVING LIFE... for example, I was inspired this summer to take on some FUN and just laugh and enjoy myself with my kids (who are no longer young!). At a water park I was jumping off the HIGH dive and heading down the waterslides... and my dd's best friend asks, "Mrs. W, have you had a near death experience lately?" NO KIDDING! She knew that I was not going to let a moment go by that I was not purposefully enjoying the day. I am living on purpose.

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You have finally reached the age where you really don't care what others think about the way you parent, school your children, run your life, etc. You KNOW that what you are doing is right for you and your family and you have the confidence to not let others sway you.

 

Written by a mom who will be 49 :thumbup: tomorrow!!!!

 

 

:iagree: ...and happy birthday!!!

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Happy Birthday MaMa2005!

 

40 is the new 30, so 50 must be the new 40, right?

 

I'm turning 47 in less than a month. Hard to believe. In many ways I feel like the same person I was in my teens.

 

For instance, I have much the same initial emotional reaction to things. Only now, I have the experience to know trials pass and I will emerge on the other side stronger and wiser.

 

My spirit is willing to perform handsprings and splits, but my flesh is no longer willing to comply.

 

I realize that I still have a lot of time to learn new things: I decided to take piano lessons 2 years ago and am already playing difficult classical pieces. I took up creative writing about 6 years ago and have been (minimally - embrace small successes!) published. I learned to knit in my 40s and now have a drawer full of thirsty cotton dishcloths. :001_smile:

 

I understand that true love is not an eternal honeymoon, but rather, finding someone for whom you are willing to sacrifice self and who is willing to sacrifice his self for you.

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I have mixed feelings on this one. . . .

 

On the one hand, I am much more sure of myself, and my roles with others. I feel like I have a more mature understanding of a lot of things - I'm specifically thinking of marriage :)

 

But on the other hand, my 40s have been. . . . hard. (Ok, I'm only 41, but give me a break!) We're unemployed, dependent on my parents for meeting our bare monthly expenses, and yet at the same time preparing to launch our first child into adulthood. Not where I thought we'd be or wanted to be - at all - and I am sorely tempted to play the "if only" game at times.

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I have mixed feelings on this one. . . .

 

On the one hand, I am much more sure of myself, and my roles with others. I feel like I have a more mature understanding of a lot of things - I'm specifically thinking of marriage :)

 

But on the other hand, my 40s have been. . . . hard. (Ok, I'm only 41, but give me a break!) We're unemployed, dependent on my parents for meeting our bare monthly expenses, and yet at the same time preparing to launch our first child into adulthood. Not where I thought we'd be or wanted to be - at all - and I am sorely tempted to play the "if only" game at times.

 

:grouphug::grouphug:

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Almost out of 40, but my little blurb of 40 learnings:

 

Those little babies are almost adults, oh dear, I hope I did it right?!?!

 

and

 

I thought the change of life had caused the hair on my legs to fall out, until the change of life also brought bifocals and I could see the hair again!

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http://zenhabits.net/

 

Because I can finally read a website like the one linked above and KNOW that for me, it is true and should not be ignored......which is another way of saying that I know myself now.

 

 

Ooooh, thanks for sharing that link! I like it!

 

I'm 43. I thought I'd be wiser & more together by now. I still feel like a dork. :lol:

 

Honestly, I think I have loved every age. I've never got into the big booohooo big three-oh & the four-oh groaning thing....

 

I do sometimes now get the feeling that I'm kind of at the top of the roller coaster/bell curve of life, kwim? I'm near the half way point. It's downhill all the way now which, I guess could be depressing, but I love that exhilerating free fall feeling of water slides & so I'm looking forward to another 43 or so years of screaming down the slides with my hands in the air until I land in the big pool at the bottom.........

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I love being in my 40's. I just turned 46. I like the feeling of being old enough to be considered wise yet young enough to be considered "with it".

I'm still young enough and healthy enough to enjoy life with gusto, but old enough to know, it's also okay to sit down and put m' feet up and watch life go by now and then. I like the feeling of having enough life behind me to give me me sense and enough life ahead to give me dreams. I like it that I'm automatically respected as an adult, but I'm still not that far away from understanding what it was like to a kid.

:)

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My 40's have been the best part of my life so far. I am comfortable in my own skin, and like others have said before, don't give a fig what others think of me or my decisions.

 

I still love having fun. I went down the tallest, fastest water slide in the world in my 40's. I ride roller coasters with my kids and play kickball in the yard. I treasure every minute, because with two grown I know how fast it goes.

 

I have been through some really hard places that allow me to put things in perspective. It really is all small stuff.

 

I will be 47 in December.

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I am still impatient, cross, hasty, impulsive, sentimental, lazy, shy, and not very serious or ambitious. But now I like myself anyway. I've come to terms with the fact that my hair is never going to be glossy and thick and straight. At 40, I wake up grateful for the blessings I've been given instead of feeling unhappy about the things that I don't have.

 

Cat

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hummm,

 

1. I know what I will tolerate and the things that I will walk the streets naked before I tolerate.

2. No one has to agree with me in order for me to be comfortable with my decisions.

3. I know that my life is not a dress rehearsal. This is the real thing and I must make the most of every moment.

 

I'll be 42 on Monday and I'm loving life!

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We've found that many of the goals we have been striving for all of our adult lives are starting to be fulfilled in our 40s:

 

- Our two oldest children have matured and gone off to college. We are VERY proud of both of them! (Our other five children will reach that age when we are in our 50s. :tongue_smilie:)

- This turbulent relationship between two strong-willed individuals who are desperate to be one has weathered the storm for over 20 years. As a result, we are both much more confident that our relationship can withstand what lies ahead!

- We have gotten out of debt and are much more financially free. This has opened up many new possibilities for us.

 

It's been a great decade so far!

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When I turned 29, I cried and cried. I didn't want to be 30 or grow old. When I turned 40, it was almost a non-event. I love being older. I like the peace of not having to prove myself. I like knowing intimately who I am, where I have been, and where I want to go.

 

At 40 I am more aware of mortality, and how quickly it can come.

 

I am glad to see that some friends from my teens have chosen similar paths and that we still have common interests despite not seeing each other for 20 years. But I am not upset that other friendships have gone away because I have learned that sometimes a friend is a gift from God for that season alone. I believe that he will provide the friends I need or the next seasons of my life.

 

At 40 I love being able to say that I have been there and done that when referring to having a career and being a mom that worked out of the home and carried my child to day care. It makes the financial sacrifices of now all the sweeter. I learned money isn't everything.

 

I can say that I don't necessarily 'feel 40' though. My children are young and their friends often have parents in their early 30s or even in their early/mid 20s. It isn't until I don't connect on some popular music or notice my clothing isn't quite as stylish that I actually think about my age. Youth can be a state of mind :)

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I finally like how I look and feel like I look the best I ever had. Then again, maybe I'm just more confident of who I am.

 

I also feel like people take me more seriously. I'm not a wide eyed innocent anymore. I am a redhead with freckles so people think I'm younger (which can be nice), but then i say "well I am 40" and suddenly I become "one of them". I've been through a lot of pain and disappointment in the past 15 years, but I've come out smiling. Life doesn't scare me as much.

 

Beth

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I am still impatient, cross, hasty, impulsive, sentimental, lazy, shy, and not very serious or ambitious. But now I like myself anyway. I've come to terms with the fact that my hair is never going to be glossy and thick and straight. At 40, I wake up grateful for the blessings I've been given instead of feeling unhappy about the things that I don't have.

 

Cat

 

I adore this response. I can't say it as well, but I also feel like I have come to terms with my strengths and weaknesses and I am not insecure about them anymore.

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