“Life begins at forty.” – W. B. Pitkin
I am going to be 40 years old tomorrow. By the time you get to 40, it seems like many people are dreading having another birthday. Not me. To start with, to have a birthday means to have made it through this world another year and be fortunate enough to be looking forward to another one. That right there is enough cause for joyful celebration. I was diagnosed with cancer nine days before my 25th birthday; that can change your perspective on the whole birthday thing quite a bit. So can getting to the other side of heart surgery, chronic autoimmune illness, and severe depression. When you are a survivor of anything, whether it be illness, death of a loved one, abuse, the list goes on and on; birthdays are an opportunity for us to celebrate ourselves and what we have endured. It is a chance to say “Yes I have gotten here”. It also is a chance to be hopeful that maybe, just maybe, the next year can help us realize some of our hopes and dreams.
I have to be honest; it really bothers me when people complain about having another birthday, whether it be their 40th or any other year. I just don’t get it. I know that my perspective about the birthday thing is not always the same view other people have. As a society, we don’t usually value getting older and a birthday is a reminder that we are in fact getting older.
Maybe we are afraid of getting sick…
Maybe we are afraid of death…
Maybe we are afraid we won’t be as useful as we once were…
Maybe we are just disappointed that we have not accomplished what we thought we would.
See, I don’t look at it like that. I have even tried to look at it like that so I can be relatively sympathetic to my friend’s complaints (I have quite a few turning 40 this year!) but the truth is: I am grateful to see that big “40” on a cake or on a card. It means I got 5484 more days than I originally planned on when I was 24 years old.
That being said, the course of my life has veered quite drastically from where I planned it to go when I was 18, 20, or even 30 years old. At this point, I was supposed to be married with 2.2 kids, a few dogs, and a house with a white picket fence. I was supposed to have some financial security as well as a fabulous nursing career. I was not supposed to spend the better part of my 20’s and 30’s dealing with so much illness, stress, and heartbreak. Ahh, the best laid plans.
So where did my life end up at 40 years of age? I’m divorced with no kids, not financially secure by any means (well heck, who is these days?), out of work for over two years, and I have complicated health issues. I also ended up with an incredible circle of friends, a loving family, a pretty cool (although oftentimes psychotic) dog, a warm home, a loving and supportive church family, a relationship with God, and a man who has redefined for me what it is to truly love.
On the way to 40, I have also ended up with a very strong sense of self. I have learned to love myself and to value the gifts I have to share in this world. I cannot say that about the former 30 year old version of myself. I have confidence. I even like who I am on most days. As I approach 40, I am learning to be more physically comfortable in my own skin. I have to say, that still remains one of my biggest challenges; maybe I will have mastered it by the time I am 50.
I have learned a lot about how to be a good friend and partner.
I have had the opportunity to work with people who have faced much greater hardships than I can ever imagine.
I have learned to treat my body with the respect that it deserves.
I have learned how to be grateful.
I have stopped living my life as a race and instead have learned to live each day like it is a privilege.
I guess it is true what they say about wisdom coming with age.
Photo: Courtesy of Chuck Myers
Christine, all I can say is that you are one remarkable person! God Bless you.
Angela
Awesome. What a great perspective. Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful – and I agree. My bdays are always "Char Days", even if it's just me, I celebrate.
Char
Chris you are so inspiring and I'm glad we are in your circle of friends. I will think of this blog post next month when I turn 1 year older.
I don't know you .But having read your blog I can tell you are one amazing person. I have never let my age bother me .I will be 53 in June and I feel so blessed every day.
As one of your soon-to-be-40 friends, this post rings true. I am not afraid of turning 40 but I do sometimes feel like I "should" be elsewhere. But I am where I am…I am who I am…I love who I am…and I love my friends, like you, who support me as I am.
Happy Birthday Miss Christine 🙂
Thank you all for taking the time to read my entry. Here is to lots and lots of birthdays for us all!! 🙂
Is it not amazing that how we percieve our lives should go never seems to match the path God has intended for us to experience.
When I was younger, I was sure that I would never live to see 30. I wanted to experience all there was in life, no matter how dangerous or challanging it looked. I wanted to be married, have a son and daughter, and own my own home.
Today I am 55 and am the father of 6, and soon to see the 5th grandchild born.
The experiences God has placed into my life have prepared me to deal with the situations I deal with each day. I have learned that the weaker we are, the stronger God is. That life is a this minute type deal…tomorrow is never guaranteed. That you may think you have it rough, until you look around and see someone else has it worse.
I have seem terminally ill patients in the hospital, reach out to lift up others spirits. This to me is what God intended for us to do. We are all one family, not meant to live or deal with this life alone.
Tommy ~ Thank you for your very insightful comment. I know that God has much different plans than what I had set up for myself so I just try to sit back and be patient…..