Forty, Fabulous and Ready for the Journey!

As I’ve approached my fortieth birthday, I’ve pondered what this milestone means to me. Hitting the two-score mark is a biggie and something I wasn’t eager to rush into.

Psychologists say we face two life changing events that chart the course of our lives. The first juncture is adolescence, that time when hormones run wild and life enchants and evades us, all at the same time.

The second is a moment I’ve dreaded ~ that singular life changing moment:

Turning 40

The odd part is: I do feel different. I didn’t expect that. It’s as if I’ve made some great leap and crossed over into another chapter of my life. I can’t see how a number changes your life, but it does.

Just as we crossed the 18 year milestone, the right to vote, and the ability to drive a car, so goes 40 in the diary of our lives.

I recall a moment when I was 17 and met the girlfriend of an older and respected friend. I remember thinking how beautiful and sophisticated this girl was. At the time, I believed she had it all together. Then my friend whispered, “Don’t you know? She’s 37!”

I was stunned and immediately thought how old she was. Ahh – to be 37 again.

How is it that life continues to be our journey? It is the “soul” discovery that we’re meant to take from the moment we’re born.

As I reflected on today, I recognized that:

I’m not the same person I was 10 years ago and that’s OK! 
• I don’t need what I did 10 years ago and that’s even better!
• I do need what I thought I didn’t 10 years ago and for that I’m grateful!
• I am a changed woman because of the grace of others and WOW what an amazing feeling that is!

The Beginning and the End

I believed that 40 was the end of my life, and instead find that it is just the beginning. I carry with me the belief that what I am is only a fraction of what I can be, and that what I was is only a portion of who I will be.

I received this thought today, a gift, as it were, from my father. This Satchel Page quote felt like it was the beginning and end to where I am and where I want to be:

“How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?”

You would be 40! Enjoy the day and the journey!