How did you get that old?

Birthdays have always been a blessing to me.  I realized at a very young age that eventually I would get old(er).  As I believe I have mentioned in the past, I really only struggled with one birthday and that was 35.

But we aren't talking about my birthday today.

I want to talk about our kids.  So much planning and celebration over the years into each birthday party.  Family gatherings and cake.  Festive decorations and games.  Not once during all those years did I ever think that my kids would someday be "my age" at the time of the party.  How does this happen?

Mygirl40

Megan turned 40 this year.  When I called her and asked how it felt, she said "I am not going to lie, I cried a little bit".  I said, "I am not going to lie either, so did I".  Then we both laughed.

In a card she will probably never get (or at least not on time) since I transposed the numbers on her mailing address, I shared my thoughts on turning 40.  I don't believe I have done this since she turned 20 and a lot can happen during that time.

When I turned 40, I had no idea what the next decade had in store for me.  Because of my need of structure, I like to think in terms of a single decade.   I had plans, ideas, thoughts and some of those things happened.  But it is so much more than that.

My husband surprised me on my birthday with a party including family and friends.  We had only been married a few months so he took a big chance on how I reacted to surprises.

When I was 40, I had my last child.  This was not something in the decade of "30 something" that I would have predicted.

Kari40

When I was in my 40-somethings...I completed my Bachelors in Psychology.  While this was something I was actively working on, there were times I never thought I would get it done.  Very surprising, barely a year after graduation, I found myself back in school, working and completing my Masters in Counseling Psychology.  Still in my 40's.

Around 48 I changed careers.  Nothing I had ever planned on doing prior to retirement.  This gave me the opportunity to expand my knowledge and experience in an entirely different arena.

More positive change occurred when I turned 50.


Don't think I never had any setbacks or scares in my 40's.  That would not be true.  But my main point here is, I could never have predicted what the 40's would look like.  And now I say the same held true for my 50's.  The jury is still out on this next decade, but I have high hopes!!  And plans!

All this to say, my daughter turned 40.  I could never have envisioned what that would look like (for me or her).  But I am excited for her next decade.

Until next time,
#40isthenewturningpoint
#timeslowdown

your pal,
Kari