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Wow, I turned 40 on June 29 and I made it through the day without flipping out! Maybe it will hit me hard when I wake up tomorrow, but it doesn’t seem like a big deal at this moment. I remember when my own mother was 40. I was 15 myself and back then, I thought she was sooooo old… Today, I’m the one reaching that milestone and my perspective is obviously different. I was 36 when I had my first child and 38 for the second, so to my 15-year-old self, I’d look quite ancient!

Growing up (and eventually growing older) has quite a few advantages in my opinion. When I turned 20, I didn’t know anything about life and I didn’t care. The world was completely open and out there for me to discover. Over the next 10 years I figured things out and found myself, including by moving to another continent and sticking to a job I would enjoy long-term. By the time I turned 30, I felt like I finally graduated to adulthood, and it was a cool place to be. Another 10 years have gone by and at 40, I feel like I have proven myself to other people (I have a career and I can handle two kids, well, most of the time) and now I’d like to prove to myself that I can develop some other talents and interests. Which talents, I’m not sure yet, but that’s what makes life interesting every day.

And yes, my “40 and fabulous” T-shirt from Cafe Press is in the mail, and I can’t wait to wear it! To all moms out there 40 and over, carpe diem! As KebMo says it so well, “life is beautiful, life is wondrous…”

I turned 40 on the 25th of May 2010 and have decided to set myself some challenges. I’d love it if you’d support me through them as they are very difficult but I’m very excited. Check out my weekly blog and I’ll keep you updated on my virtuoso piano playing, my competitive salsa, my cooking attempts and my life and family.

http://susannah-myfortiethyear.blogspot.com/

Susannah

Every woman has a Real Cougar inside just waiting to be released—a woman who is strong, confident, independent, sexy and proud to be over 40! Check out Don’t Ever Call me Ma’am - The Real Cougar Woman Handbook

Turning 40 for a woman is kind of like taking ownership of a souped up sports car. You have the keys, you know how to drive it, but where are you going to go? Linda Franklin shows the way. This essential guide is all about women taking ownership of the power that comes of a lifetime of experience. Linda covers topics such as relationships, work and finances and shows how to create the life you want with effective, meaningful strategies. Reading this book felt like a celebration–the author lets us know that it’s high time women of a certain age have fun and not be afraid or ashamed to do so. Thank you Linda!

A Real Cougar is a woman who:

As I continue on this journey towards 40 I am more and more bothered when I hear that 40 is the new 30. While I sometimes want to deny that I am getting older, I DO NOT want to repeat the past decade.

The journey that I am on is not one of regression but one of preparation. I want to be the best 40 I can be. I believe that in wanting to remain in our youth we deny the experiences that life has given us.

I may fear the passing of time because it brings with it questions regarding my future but I also celebrate it because I am wiser, stronger and prepared to face that unknown due to the experiences I have had. When the moment comes, I will march bravely into a new day and with my head held high I will turn and blow a kiss goodbye to 10 years of a life well-lived.

I was an unwed mother of twin boys at 20 and spent the next 20 years focused on raising them. I married an alcoholic, worked in low paying dead end jobs, but I had tunnel vision, getting my boys to college. They were going to have all the opportunities I never had. They are in college now and at 40 so am I.

Some days I feel like I can take on the world yet other days, when the self doubt creeps in, I think who do I think I am. When Im sitting in class with 20 somethings and no one wants to converse with the”non-traditional student” I feel so insecure and out of place. Yet, learning is so incedibly exciting and my sons are very proud of me. Its a strange and exciting journey. I refuse to let self doubt and others opinions, regarding all the doors that will be closed to me because of my age, keep me from pursuing my dreams!!!
-We are not now that strength which in old days moved heaven and earth; that which we are we are; one equal temper of heroic hearts, made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. – Alfred Lord Tennyson

Very recently, I turned 40 years old. I prefer to think of myself as a “fledgling 40″ spreading my ever so lightly dusted grey wings, maybe not soaring as high as the other chickadees but still holding my own. Gradually I am owning up to my status as a middle-aged woman. I am learning to graciously accept the “yes, mam” that have replaced the “dear” and “miss.” These days, I religiously slather on sun-screen even in the dead of winter, strap myself into a major support bra and color my hair, ever six weeks. There are some days I feel more like 80 years old with my Fibromyalgia, but I can still joke like a child, laugh at knock-knock jokes and look not too shabby with some cover-up and mascara.

Yet, the weeks, days, hours and seconds leading up to that epic birthday were not pleasant. I admit there were repeated bouts of hysteria, rants about intrusive gray hairs and more than a few tears. But I survived. It was all storm before the calm. The morning after the big day I fell into an emotionally serene cocoon – wow, I thought “I’m 40!” I was officially a “Cougar” with a license to leer at younger men! Woo Hoo. Well, maybe I would pass on the leering.

But I did feel different. I still felt a little like that naive, introverted 20 year old I will always harbor inside, but she was more like an echo. I was owning up to my life experience and felt wiser. I also felt relieved. All those years of making blind choices, learning and growing from my mistakes, going down winding paths, then finally arriving here with a sense of relief and understanding. It is not that I will never get lost again, but I am now better equipped for the journey. I have also realized that I have no regrets – every decision and action has brought me here to my family and I am blessed.

Sesame Street turned 40 yesterday, the Internet turned 40 last month, Diddy and Matthew McConaughey blew out 40 candles last week…guys, I think we’re on to something here. Turning 40 is as cool as it gets.