A friend is turning 40 in a few weeks, something she's feeling anxious and sad about. Something my high school advisor said came to mind, as it often does. He said that we teenagers were so caught up in the fact that we thought life was awesome as teenagers, but it isn't. Life, as far as he was concerned, really got good at 40.
The closer I get to 40 the more I realize he was right. Being a teen sucked on so many levels. The 20s are better, but still not sure I would go back (though I would happily get my early 20s spine back, from before the first rearending and back injuring horse fall.)
Somewhere in my 30s I started to lose track of exactly how old I was, a number so closely monitored in your youth. I now have to do the math every time I'm asked, but maybe that's because my older brain can't remember if I'm turning 37 or if I'm already 37 (the answer is the former.) However, I think losing track is indicative of how not important that number has become, because you're no longer lamenting the loss of your youth or trying desperately to get older. It's a sign of contentment.
I recognize that there is some fear in getting older, and it's probable in a couple of decades I'll be having that stress. But I hope not. Sure, I may wish I'd done more riding and less playing of solitaire/bejeweled/mahjong. But, right now I think I'm doing a pretty decent job at this living life thing.
My forties, this month alone: I took Jeremy and the kids out on tall ships for a pirate battle, and up to the mountains to learn falconry; I had my best horse show ever; a thing I wrote went viral to almost universal praise; I keynoted a conference and did it well. Of course I miss my mother constantly but otherwise, this is the best decade of my life by far.
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