By Emmy Serviss / Boston
As I write these words, I have one week left until I turn 40 and join my new rank as "middle aged." I don't feel as apprehensive about turning 40, as I did when I turned 30. Instead of feeling old and depressed and lamenting the end of my youth, I find myself just feeling that the whole thing is so WEIRD. I was born August 4th, 1982, so I am most definitely 40 years old. But aside from occasional agita and lower back pain, I don't feel 40.
I remember when my mom turned 40, and we threw her a surprise party back at our house on Long Island. I remember my parents' friends attending with their families, and I remember thinking that 40 was so old. My parents and their friends all had grown-up jobs and owned a house and had two or three kids and seemed like they had everything together. Maybe it's just me, but adults back then just felt...adultier.
As I approach the 40th yard line, I'm currently single, have no children and I still rent my apartment. I do have a grown-up job, but I don't feel like the adult that my parents seemed to be at my age. It makes me wonder if I'm really behind on the so-called milestones of adulthood, or if my parents also didn't have a clue what they were doing, and us kids just assumed they did.
And now it makes me wonder if my friends' kids think that I have all MY shit together.
Which is hilarious.
Whilst I often feel like three kids in a trench coat who is passing as a "grown-up," I do acknowledge that a lot has changed since my parents turned 40, and my generation isn't playing by the same set of rules. So instead of focusing on all the ways I feel like I'm behind in life...
Here are 40 things that I'm embracing for my 40th birthday.
1. Not owning a home means I don’t have to kowtow to an HOA!
2. I can afford to take myself out to a fancy sushi dinner, just because
3. I can also decide to eat a bag of Cheetos for dinner, just because
4. No one will ask me to go clubbing
5. In fact, my evenings can now end at 10 p.m., instead of starting at 10 p.m
6. Yes, I DO have a bottle of Tums in my purse
7. Cats are WAY cheaper than children
8. I can refer to myself as “vintage”
9. Other people’s opinions don’t seem as important as they once did
10. Nothing lasts forever, good or bad
11. I am stronger than I give myself credit for
12. Don’t be afraid to be silly!
13. It’s never too late to start something new
14. Sometimes people outgrow friendships, and that’s okay
15. Drink water
16. I don’t have to pretend to care about what’s in fashion
17. As a woman, I now find it easier for me to take up space in the world
18. But as a woman, it’s time to get my first mammogram! Wheeee!
19. My gut instincts are almost always correct
20. It’s really fun to see how surprised people get when I tell them my age
21. NOT HAVING KIDS MEANS I CAN SLEEP AS LONG AS I WANT!
22. I know that there are some things I’ll never get to do, and that’s okay
23. I can choose what to spend my money on without feeling guilt
24. You can buy that Prada bag, but I’d rather treat myself to a ticket for Into the Woods
25. Alcohol doesn’t feel nearly as important as it did in my 20s and 30s
26. Neither do high heels
27. I still don’t have any gray hairs, but the idea of going gray doesn’t bother me
28. Less time wasted having to dig my ID out of my wallet when I go to a bar
29. Driving at night without my glasses is no longer an option
30. I know that I have valuable skills and advice to offer to those around me
31. But I also know that doesn’t mean those around me want to hear it, and that’s okay
32. I have absolutely no idea what the “the kids” are into these days, and I don’t care!
33. At this point in my life I know what I like and what I don’t, and I no longer care to settle
34. I don’t need to waste my time on anything or anyone who doesn’t deserve it
35. Yes, I WILL listen to Lite FM radio in the car, thank you
36. Additionally, I will order a Shirley Temple at the bar and feel absolutely no shame
37. Setting and maintaining healthy boundaries is way easier
38. I no longer feel the need to have all the answers right away
39. I have fully abandoned the need to be anyone other than me
40. And I’m excited for my next decade of adventures
So while I may no longer be Thirty, Flirty and Thriving, I am ready to be Older and Bolder with Life Experience on My Shoulder. Okay, maybe that's not quite as catchy, but you get the idea. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go order a birthday cake and then pop an Advil because apparently my knees hurt all the time now.
Emmy Serviss is a Boston-based writer, actor and video editor. Once it is safe to return to live theater, you can find her performing with ComedySportz Boston and the sketch group SUZZY. When not on the stage, Emmy enjoys indulging in her new pandemic hobbies, laughing way too loudly and counting the days until Halloween.
You have it all together. Age is only a number. Happy birthday. 🎂🎈🎊🎉
Sweet article that took me back to my Forties. Awwww to be young again but so grown up. How can you be forty when I think of your mom when we were that age. You are a very special daughter who has it all at forty- love and humor. Who needs more?
Nicely expressed!
Covered all the bases and then some.
Forty? Ha! You ain't see nothin' yet!