40 Things You Should Know About Being 40

…from a fabulous 40-year-old!

That’s right, I’m 40 and proud. Have you heard that saying that life begins when you turn 40? Or that 40 is the new 20? Well I’m here to tell you it’s all true!

I’ve been thinking about writing this post for several months now. It all started as I was approaching my 40th birthday last March; I went through a little transition and started to notice several things about myself. I thought, ‘well, this would make a great blog post’, so I’m finally sitting down to write it all out.

I couldn’t believe it, but I actually came up with more than 40 and had to trim down my list, but here are my top 40 things you should know about being 40.

1. You’ll be firmly settled into your own skin.
2. You’ll know the value of NOT saying certain things.
3. You’ll get your silly back.
4. You’ll lose some hair and develop odd bald patches.
5. You won’t be afraid to dance, anytime, anywhere if the right song comes on (or any song, if you’re like me).
6. You’ll know what you stand for.
7. You’ll be proud of those laugh lines and crows feet; they’re earned.
8. You’ll be able to keep a secret.
9. You won’t care what people think about you.
10. You’ll feel both young and old at the same time.
11. You’ll understand that happiness is a choice.
12. Your kids will be old enough to be helpful (and do chores) and you’ll love it.
13. You’ll hear that you look younger than your age, and you’ll be proud because you know it’s true.
14. You’ll be able to let people who aren’t the right fit for your life go on their way with no hard feelings.
15. You’ll realize those moments that will never happen again while they’re happening, and have a ‘moment’ while you’re taking it all in.
16. You’ll appreciate random acts of kindness more than ever and want to keep them going.
17. Your eyebrows will almost disappear.
18. You’ll appreciate your parents and feel grateful to have them (or think of them every single minute of every day if you don’t, miss you Dad).
19. You’ll drink TONS of coffee without feeling badly about it and ride the high as long as you can.
20. Your gut instinct will be super sharp and you’ll know when to listen to it.
21. You’ll invest in your health.
22. You’ll realize the importance of building people up, not tearing them down.
23. You’ll laugh at yourself and your life, a lot.
24. You’ll start forgetting little things, like why you walked into a room.
25. You’ll be proud of the mistakes you made because you know those mistakes are part of your story.
26. You’ll get in bed a lot earlier, get up several times at night to pee, and wake up before the roosters.
27. You’ll realize your spouse is the best thing that ever happened to you and that they’re actually a saint for putting up with you for umpteen years (love you, babe).
28. You’ll be confident and self-assured.
29. You’ll miss your babies, even if they’re still around.
30. You’ll learn to make yourself a priority and take back some ‘you time.’
31. You won’t be afraid to love wholly.
32. You’ll say the wrong word and swear it means something it doesn’t, but own it anyway.
33. You’ll find that breaking the rules occasionally is kind of fun and that the world won’t end if you do it.
34. You’ll be okay with having only a few friends, as long as they’re true.
35. Your everything will relocate south (eyelids, butt cheeks, actual cheeks, thighs, the ‘girls’…all of it).
36. You’ll worry about things you never even used to think twice about.
37. You’ll realize that shots of tequila (or any hard liquor, really) are NEVER a good idea.
38. You’ll get the travel bug, bad.
39. You’ll realize that NO is it’s own sentence, and you’ll be okay saying it.
40. You’ll accept and maybe even embrace your flaws, and you won’t try to be someone else; you’ll just try to be a little better than you were yesterday.

I always thought I would feel old and outdated at 40; because 40 seemed so…well, old, but instead I feel empowered, enlightened, and joyful! …and remember, age is only a number!