41 Years Ago Today.....

How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?
~Satchel Paige~

.....I was born. It's been a pretty quick 41 years overall. When I look back at experiences, and think back to my childhood, it seems like it was worlds away. But it also seems like I got to 41 pretty quickly. Such is the passage of time.

I hope I make it another 41 years. That'll get me to 82 (I did the math for you : )

I hope the next 41 don't go by as quickly as the last, but I am afraid they are going to go even faster. Why is it that the older one gets, the faster it goes by? When I was a kid I couldn't wait to get older. Always wishing for my next birthday, wanting to be 16 so I could drive, wanting to be 18 so I didn't have to listen to my parents anymore, wanting to be 21 so I could drink. Around 21 I didn't wish for birthdays anymore. I didn't care that they came, I just didn't need them to come anymore. I reached the full age of legality, I could do anything. It wasn't until my mid-thirties that birthdays started reminding me I was getting old. Last year was hard. Something about 40 says old to me. I realize it's not really "OLD" but it is "older". Now I am entering my "forties", that seems old.

The firs thing I noticed last year was my eyes. I'd had people tell me that your eyes will start to go at 40. I've always had better than perfect vision my entire life. I didn't believe MY eyes would go. Well they did. I don't need glasses yet, but I do need to hold things with small print very far away to read it. And if the light is poor, forget it. That's new to me.

I've heard people say 40 is the new 30. 50 is the new 40, blah, blah, blah. Maybe it's true in how people look these days. If you look at people from 50 years ago, they did look old at 40. I think now-a-days we dress younger, take care of our skin better, etc. So maybe the new 40 looks 30, but I don't think 40 feels like 30. When I was 30 I had a 3 year old and a 1 year old. And a lot more energy to keep up with a 3 year old and a 1 year old. I wouldn't wish that on myself now.

So Happy birthday to me. I made it another year.

Here's some quotes on birthdays and aging for your enjoyment:

Thanks to modern medical advances such as antibiotics, nasal spray, and Diet Coke, it has become routine for people in the civilized world to pass the age of 40, sometimes more than once.
~Dave Barry~
"Your Disintegrating Body," Dave Barry Turns 40, 1990

Middle age is having a choice between two temptations and choosing the one that'll get you home earlier.
~Dan Bennett~

Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened. ~Jennifer Yane~

There is no pleasure worth forgoing just for an extra three years in the geriatric ward.
~John Mortimer~

Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many.
~Author Unknown~