Any posters aged around the 40 mark or over?

You young 'uns shouldn't worry at all about growing older as it beats the alternative!

I should point out out that I'm a lot closer to 70 than I am to 40 and still have fun, in that every day is a new experience. (Or is that just my bad memory?)
 
I turned 40 about 3 weeks ago. I did something weird just coming up to it. I was tired of moaning about being a fat frump, low energy, etc, so I went to UK and did a fitness retreat. When I say it changed my life, literally. As well as getting my energy back, this is going to sound kind of weird, but I got my mojo back.

Since returning to work, comments have ranged from, you are like a breath of fresh air around this place, to my boss remarking to someone else how much work I do. That is from someone who is quite hard to please. People have said, there is something different , but they could not place it. Lady on reception, whom I dont know very well, actually asked could she speak to me for a moment. I was like, oh, whats coming here and she just said, you are looking so fabulous lately, I just had to tell you!

Downside, went for an eye test because I was imagining road signs were funny and yes, I needed glasses, for work and driving, like eyesight gave up at 40. Paid a fortune for a pair of designer specs to match my red sporty car and lipstick.

I dont wear dresses, but for the first time ever bought one for the Christmas party the other night. Bought something funky rather than revealling, want to make sure I dont look like mutton! Best comment to me was from a guy, who was not chatting me up, but said, how the (bleep) is someone like you single!

It is all about outlook. Agree about some people being 21 going on 70 and vice versa. I have always thought of Ronan Keating being an old man trapped in a young mans body when Boyzone first came out. I am lucky in that I certainly dont look 40 and people think they have misheard when I say I am. My Dad is 68 and if someone said he was 50 you would believe him.

Another aside, I don't have kids, and a "friend" remarked about herself "god, I dont want to be 40 and not have another baby". Have to say, That got to me a bit.. I dont have children because of the circumstances and timings of my long term relationships, (2 relationships totalling 23 years) and that is a bit of a regret, though I am not going to dwell on it.

Hope this helps.

From a fab 40 year old.
 
My 40th is 265 days away, not that I'm counting or anything. I don't expect to feel any different the day after (except possibly a bit hung over) but I suppose it serves as a reminder to reflect on your life - where you've been, where you are and where you're going. A bit like New Year's Eve only nobody tries to sing Auld Lang Syne but doesn't know more than one verse and the chorus.

If such reflection leads you to the conclusion that there are aspects of your life that you're not happy about, then use the opportunity to work out how you can change them. Look what MandaC achieved above. She could have done this at any time, but if it took the occurrence of her 40th to spur her into action, then such landmark birthdays are definitely a good thing. Congratulations MandaC!
 
Sorry but life does not begin at 40 nor is 60 the new 50. These are things that people say to make you feel better.

Life begins when you cough out your first breath and ends when you squeeze out your last one. Inbetween you take each day and live it as if there was never a calendar in existence . Your date of birth is a number and maybe someone made a mistake when dating you birth.

How you feel depends on yourself and not a date on paper. Consequently, try to keep yourself healthy and fit both in mind and body and just take the gifts you get on your so-called birthday and get on with life
 
I agree that the best approach to birthdays is to just think I'm a day older than I was yesterday instead of 'Oh my God, I'm FORTY and what have I done???' When you're fifty, forty will seem really young, when you're sixty, fifty will sound young. It's all just figures.
 
How am I supposed to feel as I approach 70. Sorry, must go, its almost seven o'clock, time for cocoa and bed.
 

Wel done MandaC. Could you post a link to that fitness retreat, I think I could do with some of what ever it is they provided over there
 
I have recently taken ownership of my 1st baby, and all at 40+.

I'm an old dad and I wish I had done it 5 or 10 years ago, but another stage of my life is now beginning and I'm really looking forward to it.

Perhaps I will need the energy I had when I was 25, but I'm finding that my body is already beginning to learn to survive on 3hrs sleep every night.
 
Well, they say you need less of it as you get older.

(double entendre intended)
 
I turned 40 last June. I have found it really strange. 30 came and went without a blip so I wasn't expecting any big shift in psyche. Like Manda C I don't look my age, I'm often told I look only in my 20's and people are really surprised I have children (I have 4 - the eldest will be 21 next month) so maybe that has coloured my attitude.

The two issues I found are kind of contradictory: firstly I could be talking about someone and be asked, "How old are they?" and I'll reply : Oh they're no spring chicken, they're 40 odd.. It's like subconsciously I don't identify with them or that age group, - I just don't feel it applies to me! I have to occasionally remind myself that 40 odd is me now too.

The second is I think I spent all my life up to 40 looking forward and making plans. Sometimes too much so, e.g. if I just get through Christmas or - after the Summer I'll do such and such. Slightly wishing my life away as if everything was in the future and there was loads of time. All of a sudden out of the blue when I turned 40 I felt this is it. This is the future. There isn't endless time. Not in a particularly maudlin way, just like this is my life. It's not something that has yet to unfold.

If I haven't moved to a big pile in the country, or to a restoration project in France, then it probably won't happen now. It's like the choices have contracted.

I suppose you could get depressed about it but I have a brilliant husband and great kids and a good life and in general I'm very happy. You just have to realise it's all about change and for me it's about starting to enjoy the present and let the future just happen.

A.
 
I will be 40 in 2 yrs. I feel more settled and secure than I did when I was 30. I feel less of a need to prove myself at work. Got married 3 yrs ago and have a baby. Even though I work full time I wouldnt rule out part time work in the future. I care more about my personal life, family and hobbies these days and work is just somewhere to go to meet adults & get out of the house. When I was 30 I was single and had a house. I would stress about work and the need to earn X amount of money to keep the mortgage paid etc.

Also because of my relationship I feel less of a need to put loads of energy into friendships. When I was 30 I would always be the one arranging meet ups with friends. Some of these would never ring me but would meet when I rang them. These days I meet up with friends from time to time. However if I am doing all the running, I gradually cut back on contacting them, and I let the friendship fizzle out.

The biggest change of all is that I rarely go for nights out or hols now because of baby. I don't really care as I am happy just doing small things with OH and baby, and just going for the occasional night out.
 
MOB said:
I have to say, I've never met you and yet I find I am already scheming in my mind to find some way to fix you up with my unmarried brother.......
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That's hilarious- exactly what I was thinking! Have a lovely older brother, sadly very shy and therefore single, fortuitously loaded and if only...I'm from a large family and already have three great sisters in law and a sister and MandaC sounds like she'd fit right in to our bunch ( never mind the men).


There are great advantages to starting a family slightly late too- you may not have as much energy as in your twenties, but you will have more patience and a better grasp of the bigger picture. Children don't care what age their parents are ( at least not until the teen years and then that passes too). However, have to correct you on the ownership thing- wait until they're one year old, by then, they own you, not the other way around!
 
Lex Foutish said:
I could offer you my accumulated wisdom
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You could write that all down on one side of a matchbox...

I on the other hand have many years of accumulated knowledge of travel, craft skills, people skills, family skills, management skills the only one I lack is how to know what a woman is thinking.
 

Is it true that you are giving a talk on humility next week?
 
Purple said:
Is it true that you are giving a talk on humility next week?
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Yes, I didn't write it down because I didn't want everyone to think I was boasting but since you let the cat out of the bag well it's true I'm very humble too...
 
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