Eyesight really is the first to go. Or is that memory? I can’t remember.
But my eyesight is going. I went 40 years with perfect vision then BOOM!.. I’m blind. I have to pull things so far away from my face to read, they might as well be in the other room.
So I recently got my first pair of reading glasses. And I’m much less excited about looking smarter than I am sad that it’s not a fashion statement, I really need them.
It’s probably a coincidence this happened right around my 40th birthday. But it was sort of a double whammy of age creeping up that I wasn’t at all prepared for.
I don’t feel 40. Well, most of the time I don’t. Partly because I had my kids late (at least late compared to my mom’s generation) so they’re still young. Which helps me feel young (or much older depending on the day).
So when my husband, out of the blue, said, ‘Hey, how do you feel about this being the last day of your 30s?’ Well, thanks for that spectacular tact and timing, but before then I hadn’t actually thought about it much.
We didn’t have any kind of big celebration planned so I was going about my life as usual and then BAM!… Happy Birthday, I’m old now.
I don’t think I’ve fully wrapped my brain around who I’m going to be now.
In my 20s I was fearless. In my 30s I was tired. In my 40s I’m falling apart.
But I do know these things about turning 40. (I was going to do 40 things about turning 40.. but I got tired.)
Perfect vision doesn’t last forever… apparently just about 40 years
Everything hurts
Your hands look older and wrinklier
You see your mother’s face in the mirror
And there is soooo much gray
People call you ma’am
You get angry when people call you ma’am
You get offended when you don’t get carded for liquor
It’s a lot harder to keep excess weight off
You stop caring as much about keeping excess weight off
You start thinking of 30 somethings as young whippersnappers
You start using terms like whippersnapper
You start dreaming of retirement
You pick out your single bedroom condo by the beach for your retirement
You start stressing out about affording retirement (Don’t wait until 40 to worry about this.)
You’re only 10 years away from some senior citizen discounts!
You know they don’t make movies like they used to.. and when your kids are old enough you will make them watch the classics over and over and over again
You have a mustache.. and hair in other weird places
You forget why you walked into a room
You forget what groceries you need
You forget your kids’ names
You forget.. wait, what?
You don’t have a clue who’s singing on the radio
You can’t tell the Kardashians apart.. and you don’t care
You probably won’t ever be a Rockette…
Or a ninja warrior
And you give a lot fewer Fs about a lot of things.. especially what other people think of you (That’s my favorite one)
The vision is so frustrating! I always had perfect vision too but now I need those reading glasses!! I don’t take them to the store with me.. yet.. so I’m always asking my kids to read lists of ingredients to me.
Yep. So I got my glasses because things were fuzzy and I had to pull them far away to make them clear. But it hadn’t really been absolutely necessary to wear them until this weekend. My daughter had a splinter in her finger and I literally could not have been able to see it to get it out without my glasses. Ugh.
OMG yes… literally one day I could see fine and the next I couldn’t read a thing. I was convinced I was just suffering from eye strain… it took me two days to realize… oh my gawd… I can’t read anymore!
Love your list… yes to all… and welcome to the 40’s! You know it’s the new 30, right???
It really seemed to sneak up on me too. A lot of that was probably denial. 🙂 Thanks!