Fabulous 40'S

Hi G.,

I'm 48....40 is nothing! LOL

I would never trade the woman I am today for the younger model of me of my 20's or 30's. With age comes wisdom AND the power to know how to use it!

I'll take experience, knowledge and perspective over taught skin all day long! How about you? lol

Enjoy every age!

I'm 41 and ever since I hit 40, I have sort felt like "who cares" anymore... by this I mean...the weight, the age, the looks, the problems that others create for you...I just feel like you have to enjoy every single day and not care so much about what others think. I love being over 40!

My 40s are my favorite yet. I know who I am and don't put up with much anymore. I speak my mind and don't care what others think ... truly don't care. Like me, hate me, whatever. I used to care a lot about not hurting others' feelings, but now if they're doing something stupid, I'll say so. I just don't have the insecurities I did even through my 30s.

In your 40s, people respect what you have to say at work. You are experienced and trusted because of it.

You can look at a lot of the questions on here where moms are worrying about the little things and be glad that's not you anymore. When you have concerns in your 40s, they tend to be bigger issues. You don't sweat the small stuff anymore.

The 40s aren't anything to dread. Be proud of your age!

Trust me it's much more fabulous than 50, enjoy the heck out of it AND it's the decade to promise yourself that you are gonna be a healthy senior citizen. This is your time to axe bad habits, start new ones and realize you have less than 20 years till retirement.
You are past all the pettiness, your esteem is in tact. You actually KNOW things now that you didnt know THEN. Use it and love it!

I am 48.... and while there have been some highs and lows along the way, that which I learned to appreciate is LIFE in and of itself... Since turning 40, I don't freak out as much about the petty things in life.. I have learned better to cut through the BS... and take what I need and discard the rest (this includes unhealthy relationships)
Additionally, I think it's important to learn to be in the present moment... by that I mean, try and appreciate who you are now.. you don't want to be one of those who constantly looks back and says, ah those were the good ol days.. let NOW be that good ol days...

I also learned that I don't need to become an age-related media statistic that as we age we no longer take care of ourselves, dress frumpy and have put on a few lbs. In your 40s, you can make this the best you ever.... it's a good time to try and get rid of lousy habits and embrace a healthier lifestyle.. For me, it's meant cleaning up my act, taking more pride in my appearance because "I " want to not because I think I have to look a certain way.. With age, hopefully comes more wisdom and understanding.. I would never go back to my 20s.. let alone my 30s.. Since turning 40, life has gotten better and better. However, I think that is because my perspective/perception just gets better and better..

Forty is fabulous because it tells everyone you didn't die at 39. How's that?

When you're in your forties, you've gotten past a lot of kid stuff - not your kids' stuff, but your own "kid stuff." You don't feel less, but you think more. You're learning how to appreciate people and not just things. You can work at your goals but you're learning to select them more wisely. You don't care quite as much what others are doing or what they're saying about you. Hooray!

I love 40 because I've finally got it all figured out. I thought I knew it all in my teens, I knew I was lost in my 20s, I had a certain level of understanding, but mostly just wild fun in my 30s, now in my 40s I finally know what I need to be happy. I finally know how to manage it all. I finally know how to truly prioritize.

The only downside is all the fun I had in my 30s is catching up with me. At 42, I feel I am out of warranty! I totally agree with Gramma T. The 40s is time to take your health seriously. It's time to commit yourself to a good heart healthy diet and excercise routine, be sure you get enough rest, start taking the right vitamins and supplements. Being vigilant about check-ups and start being proactive about your health. At this age, you can start to really see who takes care of themselves and who doesn't. It's time to prioritize yourself. That's a good thing about being 40. You can finally give yourself permission to do that.

I agree with One and Done, with age comes wisdom. It is something that no book can teach you.

I think a lot of people fear getting older because they tend to look too far ahead and think the end is near. I think life becomes a little easier as you get older because you understand more.

I will be 42 this summer and it really doesn't bother me. I got over being upset about age when I turned 25.

It only gets better, IMO.

More freedom every turn of my life, I am secure with myself, my relationship with my husband, with my choice of friends, my fanancial situation, my parenting skills, just the whole nine yards gets better and better every year God blesses me with another year in front of me.

When I look back I notice the young insecurities everyone struggles with and look at each year and situation, i.e. kids, money, relationships, whatever, and notice that with time and life experiences life only gets better. Of course there are obstacles thrown out there but I can now see they were learning curves that if lesson learned, point taken, makes life easier and more enjoyable.

Life is good and my higher power, God, has always blessed me abundantly, sometimes unbeknownst to me while I was busy kicking and screaming! lol ;<))))))))

I find that my confidence is completely solidified at 43. I know who I am, I know my purpose, I know how to get it done. I'm vocal if I see that something isn't right and I no longer shrink from constructive confrontation. I no longer worry about what people may think and I'm very forgiving of myself and others.

I find each decade I've lived makes me more and more comfortable in my skin. I like how I look, I know how to dress to hide my flaws and accentuate my positives and I've got my own style down now to a T.

Two funny old sayings/commercial come to mind:
'I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and never ever let you forget you're a man' (Enjoli perfume, remember that one?!)

and

'I am woman, hear me roar'

WELCOME TO THE 40S!

40 IS FABULOUS BECAUSE...

You are alive.
You have a reasonable portion of health and strength.
You have family.
You have friends.
You can change your present to impact your future.
You have had so many experiences that make you a better person if you let them.
You learn to be more comfortable in your own skin or change your skin.
You still have the potential to dream big dreams.
You still have the time to fulfill those dreams.
You have so much to be grateful for and thankful about.
You can begin again with dignity and grace.
You are still here.
There are still corners of the world for you to see and influence.
Your failures didn't destroy you.
Your triumph's are countless.
Your family needs you.
Your friends love you.
This world is just a better place with you here.

Let's face it either you turn 40 or you are just not here any longer and that would be very unfortunate. You still have much to accomplish.

I'm a fabulous 45 and better than I've ever been in every way. It's incredible. Need I go on.

It's in how you approach it. What I learned and applied in my 40s helped me get through to my 60s. I found out who I was, what I would or would not do, learned how to say no and have no guilt, do what I liked and live life to its fullest.

A couple of health issues changed many things in my life and priorities. When you are diagnosed with cancer you have to make choices and believe in them right down to your core that they are the right choices for you.

You have lived enough to know what fashion styles work with your new/old body and to dress appropriately. Yes we all yearn for the day when we were size little and hope to get back there but know that we won't or can't. We wear sensible shoes so that our feet don't hurt and we know we look good. You have friends that have been with you through thick and thin and you can count on them when needed and you don't have to live next door to each other to do so. You become a better woman, wife/lover, mom, sister and friend. You don't sweat the small stuff at home or at work.

So look around and smell the air and the flowers and know that you are one with the universe and enjoy. You enjoy "me" time and dont' feel guilty.

The other S.

PS I will be 65 in December and a person said they thought I was 50.

oh G.!! where to begin?!?!??!?!

the 40's are FABULOUS!!! They are the new 20's!! No kidding!!!

You have life lessons under your belt!!
You don't care what other people think of you! Only the people that matter, that is!!
Your confidence level is up - not only from the life lessons and not caring - but because you've matured in a way and have succeeded in things you wanted to!!!

For some of us - it means kids are out the door and on their own!!! New found freedom!!! Now for me? It just means my kids are old enough to make their own food and stay home for an hour or two....but my daughter is grown!! YAHOO!! One down - two more to go!!!
Sex drive usually peaks in the 40s too...

Please don't be in a funk!! The 40's are FABULOUS!!! My sister thinks being 50 is just better than her 40s!!!

Life is a roller coaster! Put your arms up in the air and scream!!! Don't just sit there!! ENJOY IT!! EMBRACE IT!!!!

ETA: I will add that my best friend hit 40 and had a break down. She was laying on her bed here at my house (guest bedroom but it's hers!) and she was crying and literally felt like she was dying. Her son was making her a grandmother - her marriage was rocky - she had just lost her job of 13 years...I laid there - held her, let her cry, called my sister who had already been there (not the grandmother part) and told her - it only gets better! Then I told her about all the great things - she was young enough to enjoy her grandbabies (which is true!!) she's not in her 50s or 60s planning retirement and has an aching back - she can play and enjoy them...since then - they have been to Disney World and Disney Land - she's ENJOYING her life...loving 40s and CANNOT wait to see what her 50's bring!!

I understand how you feel. Age never bothered me until I turned 40, and then I was completely surprised when I freaked out when I turned 40. I really did. For several months I wasn't myself, and I couldn't figure out why, and then I was ashamed once I realized I was upset over turning 40. I mean, was I really that shallow? The problem was that I was realizing my own mortality, and I didn't know how to deal with it. After a few months I came to term with it, and now I am quite happy being in my 40s.

At 41, almost 42, I have so much more confidence than I did when I was younger. I have knowledge and experience to draw from. My family is secure; I have a strong faith. Those things were built over time. Even if I could go back in time, I wouldn't. Life is beautiful right now.

I won't lie . . . turning 40 was a DOOZEY for me (I'm 42 now). In some ways it really, truly stinks. Your youthful days are over. Things start to sag in places you never thought they would. You pass by a mirror and think "wow, I look more like my mom/grandma than I thought I did." It's been harder and harder to drop a few pounds. Weird perimenopausal symptoms pop up.

The "upside" for me . . . my kids are almost grown. I will be 45 when my youngest is 18. I'm not rushing them out the door but I'm happy (for the most part) with the job I've done. It's good to see them grow and mature into wonderful young men. I'm old enough to have some wisdom but still young enough to tool around the universe. :) I care less and less what other people think.

Someone once said that aging takes away what's NOT real about you . . . i.e., you become more of who you TRULY are. I love that sentiment and believe it's true.

You will be fine. And as my dad says, what is the alternative? :P

I just turned 50 and have loved every year getting here!

As OneandDone said, I wouldn't trade the woman I am today for who I was in my 20's, 30's or even 40's. Every year and every decade helped me get to where I am today. And as Stephanie B mentioned, I am more confident and secure in who I am. I have the confidence to stand up for what I believe in and speak what's on my mind. OK, I'm not jut going around and blurting out what ever, I do have tact. ;)

During my 40's I found out who I am. Did I set off the decade and decide I needed to find this information, no. But it just happened through my life experiences. I look back and think, I wasted so much energy wondering what people thought of me. I am a damn good, wife and mother and an amazing woman and friend.

I love my life and what it took to get here. Don't waste your time and energy thinking about all the what ifs'. Live your life and enjoy it. Realize you are a valuable person to many. Now, before and in the future!

Pretend you are turning 50...40 might not look so bad if you do!

Isn't this supposed to be our sexual peak?
30 for me was nothing. For some reason 33 was a killer. No idea why.
I would have liked some kind of recognition of hitting 40, but I think everyone was afraid to do anything. I think 50 will be hard. I had my children late in life and am feeling the physical reasons that most do it earlier. At 50, they will be 12 and in middle school, and teenagers, and I will probably be more overwhelmed than I already am! (kidding, sort of, I tend to handle teens better than toddlers)

Lets see...40's...well, sexual prime is obviously the first thing I thought of, but, if you are working in your 40s, you have been there long enough that you know what you are doing with your eyes shut. (that includes SAHM-that is work!)
You may not have an 18 year old figure, but I bet you don't have an 80 year old figure either. (my chest is not at my belly button, my ankles don't look like sagging stockings, etc) Maybe a crows foot of a laugh line, but those are from happy moments! Speaking of which, at this age we appreciate them more and, well, I guess we just appreciate everything more!
We are not old, by any stretch of the measure, but we are old enough to know what we want, appreciate what we get and we have enough life experience that we know HOW to get what we want!

25 freaked me out. Saying a quarter of a century made it sound like I was on a downhill slide lol

40 hasn't really bothered me, and I don't really feel any different.

My 40s are when I really started thinking that my career is established enough to quit worrying so much about climbing the corporate ladder. My best college friends and I have now been friends for over half our lives...:how cool is that? My friends and I now understand quality time vs quantity. We have different points of views on some things, but we respect our differences. I care less in general about what others think and far more confident of myself. This also means I give myself permission to fail without beating myself up about it. And...I can see reitrement in the future and a time when I'll be able to hang out with my friends and/or start my next career.

I will be 40 in July, so I don't know yet, lol

Ok, I can't say from personal experience, because I am not 40 yet, but I do have an opinion on the matter! ha! ha!
Actually I am going to quote a friend of mine who is every bit of 42. "I kind of thought by this age I would feel like an adult, and people would start thinking of me as such... Yeah, I was wrong!" HA! HA! HA! HA! Honestly I was floored when she told me she was 42. I kind of figured she was 35 at the most. I believe, wholeheartedly, that it has to do with your attitude towards it. She is so fun and full of life, and seems to not have a care in the world, yet is still a very responsible person. I think that kind of balance can only be attained by age.
Besides don't they say something like "40 is the new 30" or something to that effect?

To me age is just a number. You're as old or young as you feel. I'm 44 and the older I get the more I feel like "me". I'm more comfortable in my own skin. I believe it's all in how you look at it. For me, life is good and I am diggin' the 40's!