[oceanica]

OK turning 40 last july was traumatic.
I need someone to tell me something good about being 40!
Given the fact that the baby keeps me busy at night and I don't have the energy I used to and I have to work harder on my weight, and, well you know the drill.

I did hear Darrah somebody or other, that olympic swimmer that won a silver on the radio today, and she's pretty inspiring. She is 41.
Her book is called "age is just a number".... I'm keeping that in mind!

[loveajax]

I turned 40 in October...the anticipation of it was kind of grueling on me...and then it happened...and the sky didn't fall.

Honestly, I am probably in better shape now than i was 10 years ago (thanks to AMOMs!). I'm happier, doing better in my career, finally have my beautiful daughter. And I honestly really don't give a hoot what people think anymore, you know? It's confidence, baby!!!

Remember 40 is the new 30!!

[2xaround]

Ah, but being 40 means you are so much wiser

I am closer to 50 than 40 now with an almost 2 year old and in the process of adopting another infant. I was raising my boys in my 20's and 30's and I can say without a doubt that I am much more confident and can let things roll off my back much easier now than I did when I was younger.

The weight thing? Yes, that's a struggle and I just recently took up bike riding. My body hurts pretty much from the waist down, but it's the first time in my life that I've been aware of just how much better I feel when I've gotten up off the chair and moved.

[thanksgivingmom]

Dara Torres!

I love her!!!!!

She makes me think I can start training and still make the olympics! haha - maybe in archery?? Though I still think someone would turn out like this guy -->
Eek!

While I'm not in my 40's, my folks were when they were raising me and my sis, and they swear by it! They said it kept them nice and young - now that Dad's turning 69 in a few days he really appreaciates it - at his 50TH HIGH SCHOOL REUNION last summer he was the youngest looking guy there by a long shot! Mom's a few years younger but looks great for her age too!

[Dickons]

You now have been an adult for longer than you were a child...so imagine just how much better you are now.

Dickons

[Stormster]

i'm turning 44 in a month and ready to freak out! I have never ever ever freaked out but this is MID 40's. I had convinced myself 43 was EARLY 40's.

Ugh I have so many problems with my age that I need to get over it. Nothing I can do anyway. Just stay healthy and strong for my little Maniac McGee.

Vanity wise it's a NIGHTMARE. I'd need an hour to tell you how bad i look. The baby toddler years look better on young women for sure! But yes, I'm looking at him through wise eyes and I even like the feeling of being an older mom because I think I do have this kind of confidence in the world that probably adds something!

TGmom thanks for writing that!

[dragonfly1234]

TGM.....thank you for the wise words and encouragement .....expecially for a mom about to turn 46 with a 4 and 8 year old.

I agree with you all.....we are wiser, my body is less firm but I love every moment being a mom no matter my age.

[ocracoke]

I passed the 30 mark without a blink of the eye. Did not affect me in any way. In December I hit the 40 mark and ... I didn't like it. Okay so I am not in shape and really need to do something about it. But really it is a mindset. All of a sudden I am morbid. I calculate in my mind all the time what age I will be when my daughter is X number of years. I hope she doesn't wait to be an old mom (like I did) because I want to meet my grandkids. I am just morbid. And I don't like it.

Samantha

[loveajax]

Samantha, you sound like my husband!! He keeps harping on what age he is going to be when DD graduates from High School, College, etc. (And this guy is one of the most "in shape" 43 year olds you'll meet). He's making me nutty!!!

Also, I just saw that there is this red wine pill that is supposed to prolong life. (I'll just take the real deal!).

[startedover]

I raised one in my twenties, one in my thirties and adopted my dd 4 days before I turned 39. This has been the most fun because I am relaxed and she keeps me young and yes some days she makes me feel old. But it's great

[CaddoRose]

I just turned 46 and we are adopting a baby who will be two in July. Our bioD is 12. For me, my life just gets better and better as I get older. I know more, have more experience and can do what I want to do. I would never go back to a younger age. It is harder to stay awake longer hours, I can't pick up heavy things(55lbs or more) and I can't go for days on end on little sleep, but that's ok. I learned to work around all that. I'm old enough to not care what anyone else thinks about me or worry about trying to keep up with what others do/have.

[Magic_Hat]

If you take the wine pill AND drink the wine, do you live even longer?

My aunt (almost 70) loves to remind me that I'm going to be 60 when my daughter is 20. Why does she need to keep saying it? She had one at 15 and was a grandmother by 40.

[momof9wantingmore]

My own mother loves to remind me that I will be 66 when my youngest in 20, and never hesitates to remind that I will be 70 when my fs(if we are lucky enough to adopt him) is 20. I quickly remind her that she is 74, she says that she's not taking care of a baby and I remind her that in 20 years he won't be a baby either. I try not to look that far down the road, age is what it is, I feel good and take pretty good care of myself(no smoking, very little drinking, not overweight etc.). I do have less energy than when I was raising my older six, and I fall asleep at about 8, but who couldn't use more sleep. Sometimes when I attend my kids school functions, I do feel a little old, but luckily for me, I have some friends who have small kids and they are in their forties so they are not that much younger than I am. I truly am enjoying every minute and am a much more laid back mom than the first time around.

[joskids]

I can relate, "Mom of 9". I'm in my 50's and have a 9, 10, 11 and 3 YEAR OLD!! Honestly, some days I'm a bit tired, but no more so than when I raised my first 4 kids. I think it comes from raising "multiples" with varying needs, not necessarily my age.

Now I DEFINITELY don't like the way I see myself when I am forced to look in a mirror. But there isn't much I can do about that. It helps that I have a husband that's 10 years younger, he keeps me young.

On Easter Sunday, I met an 86 year old woman who is raising her 5 year old great, great granddaughter. She drives everywhere by herself, looks unbelievable for her age (she's AA, I find that AA woman don't show their ages as much), she has a home in a rural area and gets on her riding mower and cuts the grass. Her grandson went over there a couple of weeks ago and found her on a ladder, cleaning out her own gutters. I wanna be JUST LIKE HER WHEN I GROW UP!!!!!!!

Age is just a number. I see 20 year old's without half the stamina and patience I have gained as I get older (and better).

Love to all of you!!!

[islandfamily]

When we were at the hospital with our DS, we were all dewey-eyed, looking in the nursery window and one of the other parents asked my husband, "Is this your first grandbaby?!" At the time I was 40 and hubby was 38! He was beside himself!

I have decided that hte best way to cope with the age issue is to be the *best* 41 I can be! Maybe I don't look as good as some 20-year-olds, but ya know what? When I was 20, I was an idiot! My eyes have crows feet around them now, but these eyes have seen many different states, foreign countries and the faces of many, many wonderful friends.

I get down about the age issue a lot, when I see women pushing strollers and they look about 12 to me! But, I love who I am and I love my son and he came into my life at the precise moment he was supposed to, so I can't complain.

I'll just get me a big ole bottle of Oil of Delay and deal with it!