Yeah, I can do that...

Recently I shared an article with a fellow "triple F" friend of mine and by "triple F" I mean, Fabulous, Fierce and Forty!  Now there are a few other "f-words" that I might use to describe this "old" friend of mine but I shall save that for another blog.  Let's get back to the article I shared. 

In a nutshell, the author made a list of the many things she could do at 40 that she wasn't able to do at 20.  The list was good, the article was funny and it inspired me to create a list of my own.  You see, something happened when I turned 40, besides polishing off three bottles of wine and hanging out with some of the coolest people on earth, my family and friends, I realized that 40 wasn't so bad.  In fact, 40 was pretty damn great. 

So on Sunday, the 5th of January at 5:10 p.m., I turned forty-one!  I didn't have the usual birthday week shenanigans or birthday weekend celebration I have had in the past.  No, this year, the weekend was nice and relaxed.  I did spend it with family and a few special friends that included a surprise guest who helped me end my birthday with a bang.  But there was no Pomp and Circumstance, no bottles of wine, not even a birthday cake or candles to grant me that one magical wish or create a fire hazard in my kitchen.  I even had time for a nap! 

Now, my list has literally been 40 years in the making.  After all, you can't make a list of things you can do at 40 without living through 40 years of trial and error!  So without further ado...(yes it's ado and not adieu, look it up)

The Things I Can Do at 40something That I Couldn't Do at 20something
  • blog:  because people were still chiseling on stone tablets...hahaha
  • lie about my feelings:  if I don't like you, you'll know.  If I like you, then I love you and not in a crazy stalker way but in a special place in my life way
  • trust my instinct: you know that gut feeling, listen to it!
  • love unconditionally:  that doesn't mean accepting everything because that shit's for the birds
  • command attention:  I talk, you listen, very simple
  • know what I want:  except when it comes to picking a place to eat
  • know how to get what I want:  easy peasy man!
  • know that if I don't get what I want, God has something greater planned
  • attract gay men:  oh wait, I did that in my twenties also
  • eat dinner alone:  I was ok with this before but now I really enjoy it
  • drive across the country:  good luck to my friends coming with me this summer, your life will never be the same, Cali or Bust baby!
  • tell my dad I love him:  the apple doesn't fall far from the tree at all
  • appreciate my mom for the woman she is:  I hope my biologicals get to this place someday
  • know when I'm being played:  not the same as "playing the game"
  • let someone else win:  because it's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game..ok...sure...I guess
  • read scholarly articles for fun:  yeah, I know...weird!
  • embarrass my kids with my steering wheel dance:  in my twenties, I didn't have kids but I'm sure I embarrassed my passengers with the exception of my bestie who also does a mean steering wheel dance ("Whaaaaat?! Cumbias Sin Control??)
  • let go and let God:  oh this is tough, but oh so necessary!
  • see passed the bullshit...
  • love little ol' me:  Yes, I know my own worth and the forty years it took to realize it, had to happen just the way they did.  No looking back, no regrets.  Here's to the next 40! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On Saturdays I Weep

Saturdays have become so difficult for me.  Maybe it's the slow start, the silence, the stillness of the house that allows my thoughts to consume me.  Every Saturday since I've been back in my normal routine, I have experienced such great sadness.   I'm not boarding a plane, or picking up a rental, driving down 37 South and pulling into your driveway like I used to when I was in college, kicking up sand because I drove in too fast.  "One of these days you're going to hit one of those poles." I would laugh and say, "No I'm not mom."   I never did hit one of the poles, not physically anyway.  But metaphorically, I hit one every Saturday morning.  It takes me most of the day to come out of it.  Today, I actually thought cleaning the bathrooms would be a good idea.  Who the hell thinks that?  But then my mind fills with memories of our house on Glen Garden and how we used to clean on Saturday mornings and then to recent times when ...
Read more

Happy Caliversary

Image
Five years ago, on this very day, a very worn out Honda Pilot pulled up to the Rosewood Tavern (the nickname of the house we live in) filled with the most precious and essential belongings.  The driver, a tired, single mom of two, the copilot, a strong, caring 8th grade boy and the backseat passenger, a courageous, 7th grade spitfire too much like her mama.   We arrived late that evening, unloaded as much as we could and settled in for the night as quickly as possible because the next day, I would begin "new" teacher orientation at a school district that had offered me a job just 10 days earlier.   We really did hit the ground running when we arrived and California came for us, hard.  I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach.  For the first few months, the punches kept coming and for a brief moment I thought I had made a terrible mistake.  I had left behind friends, family, a great job and my cat.  I had relocated this tight triad for a b...
Read more

Prom and Other Things

Today is the Little One's prom.  Not sure how we got here so fast, but here we are.  Why didn't anyone warn me about Pre Prom meltdowns?  They are a real thing.  Well, maybe I heard rumors about nail fiascos and hair disasters but those things only happened to other people.  Like exaggerators and cry babies.   Nope, they happen to real people, people like me that claim to have their shit together and people like my kid who is one of the strongest, most dynamic forces I know.   And let me tell you, they are not pretty.  And they come on fast and out of freakin nowhere.  I'm pretty sure I had a mini one in the car as I was running Pre Prom errands and listening to Bizarre Love Triangle on repeat.   I was looking for last minute things and I wanted to call my mom and talk shit with her.  And then I remembered she was gone.  I couldn't call her.  But I remembered aunt Mary said I could talk to my mom whenever I ...
Read more