40's the New 20, or the New Black, or Something Fab, Right?

One of my favorite movies of all time is When Harry Met Sally. I originally saw it in the theater in 1989 when I was 16. I have seen it probably hundreds of times since then. I own it on DVD and yet I stop at it every time it's on TV. In my opinion, it's one of those classic movies that stands the test of time. I highly recommend you watch it if you haven't had the pleasure before now. I can quote it almost line for line, and the lines are so good! (RIP Nora Ephron.)

 

When J and I got married, we put this WHMS quote on our wedding program: "I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." It seemed fitting. :)

Lately, I find myself thinking of another classic WHMS exchange. Sally has just found out her ex-boyfriend Joe is getting married to the woman who was supposed to be his rebound and she is doing the ugly cry of all ugly cries. Harry, her friend, comes over to provide comfort and an endless supply of tissues.

 

Sally: [Crying hysterically] And I'm going to be forty!

Harry: When?

Sally: Someday!

Harry: In eight years.

Sally: But it's there. It's just sitting there, like some big dead end.

 

I turn 40 in three months. EEK! It is ON MY MIND. Now, I'm not in the same situation as Sally, who at the time in the movie is 32, single, and childless. She's worried about the biological clock. I'm married to J, we have Sophie, and our family is complete. We are incredibly blessed. So I am really obsessing over something completely stupid.

 

I didn't feel this way about turning 30...when I was turning 30, things were super exciting. J and I were dating and we spent my actual 30th birthday in Canada so we could attend his sister's wedding and I could meet his family. We were already talking about getting married. In fact, he proposed to me four months after we returned from our trip and we got married the next year.

 

My 30s have been the best decade of my life for sure. No more angsty high school drama. No more Single Bitter Woman on the dating scene in my 20s. Other than our infertility battle, life in my 30s has been nothing but sweet.

So I think that's why I'm obsessing about turning 40...I don't want my 30s, and the way my life is going now, to end. I still feel essentially youthful, but definitely wiser than in my younger days, and that's great. But 40 just sounds Officially Old. Forty years old, with a Kindergartener...yep. Older Mommy, right here.

So silly, I know. Still, to make myself look forward to my birthday, which is in May, I have been coming up with a list of things I want to do this year to MAKE FORTY FAB!

MAKE FORTY FAB!

1. Go to The 2013 Blathering in Charleston. I chickened out of going to the one in Austin in 2011, and then, just as I decided I really wanted to go to the one in New Orleans last year, all the spots were filled. I'm not missing out again! I signed up a month ago as soon as I saw registration was open before I could chicken out. This is a 40th birthday present I'm giving myself this year-a weekend away, in one of my favorite cities, with a gaggle of Internet ladies who seem fantastic and fun and who I can't wait to meet. Hopefully, they will like me too, even though I'm pretty sure I'm the old lady in the bunch. ;)

2. Go to all the Spurs Playoff Games. My BFF and I purchased a partial playoff package last year and then regretted we didn't start off with Game 1, Round 1. Even though the Spurs lost two games shy of going to the FINALS, it was still such an amazing ride supporting my team with my friend. My birthday (May 17th) always falls in the midst of the playoffs, so last year we spent my birthday at a game! And the Spurs Championships have always happened in odd years ('99, '03, '05, '07), so their chances of winning it all are even better this year! :) GO SPURS GO!

My 39th Birthday

3. Throw a 40th Birthday/Housewarming Party in our new house. Have I mentioned we are moving in March? To a house I'm extremely excited about? With a playroom for all of Sophie's toys, an office/mancave for J, and a formal dining room for me? (It also has a little sitting area in our master bedroom that I am claiming as mine for a reading area!) While I REALLY wanted to take a fabulous 40th birthday trip this year (J turns 40 in September), we needed to move to get Sophie into a better elementary school for Kindergarten next fall. As such, my dreams of Paris for my 40th had to go by the wayside (maybe our 10th anniversary next year?! I'm going to keep trying!), but I am really excited about our new house and what could be better than a birthday/housewarming party to celebrate with family and friends? I just have to enlist my mom to help with the food (am total undomestic goddess sadly) and plan it so it doesn't conflict with a Spurs playoff home game!

4. Have a Mother-Daughter Spa Weekend. My Mom and I did this two years ago and had so much fun, but couldn't find a time to make it happen last year. Even if we do it later in the year, I hope we can find time to spend time together one-on-one relaxing and getting pampered this year.

5. Visit My Two College BFFs. The year we turned 30 we all met up in Santa Fe for a birthday weekend. At the time, we were in Dallas, San Antonio, and Phoenix, so it was a great in-between spot to meet up. We ate, drank wine, and went to a spa. Now, my two BFFs both live in Phoenix, so it is more likely I will go meet up with them IN Phoenix if we can all make it work (one of them has 4 kids under the age of 7). We'll still try to do a spa or something!

Just making this list makes me excited about the year ahead. 40's the new 20, right?! What have you done to celebrate significant birthdays/occasions in your life?