Goodbye 40. Hello 41.

Tomorrow is my birthday, its not a very big birthday and certainly not as huge as the big 40 which was last year. Being 41 got me thinking about the title of my blog and whether or not I should change it to The 40ish Year Old Domestic Goddess or The 40+ Year Old Domestic Goddess. After a lot of soul searching I have decided to leave it as it is. Why? Well the answer is simple......I have no intention of getting any older in the blogging world and lets face it, its the one place you can stay forever young. I did think about adding several years on so that when people ask how old I am and I say 49 they would hopefully say "wow you look good for your age".
I have to say that this past year has been without a doubt one of the best ever. I sat and read the blog I wrote on the day I turned 40 and smiled to myself. I was so worried and nervous about it all that I failed to notice the huge amount of love and support I had around me.

In my blog dated 11/5/2011 I wrote the following paragraph......

They say that life begins at 40.....but so do fallen arches, rheumatism, faulty eye sight and the tendency to tell a story to the same person 3 or 4 times.
Well I say bring it on......if my arches fall I will wear stilettos, if rheumatism comes along I wont have to go to the gym any more, if my eyes go wrong then that's a great excuse to eat someone else's pudding and claim that I thought it was mine and as for telling a story more than once, well I do that anyway so what the hell.

So lets analyse the above mentioned shall we.

1. Luckily my arches didn't fall, however I have now reverted to flat shoes as for some reason whenever I wear heels I look like a baby deer ice skating.

2. Rheumatism did not (thank god) come along and I am still going to the gym. We will not mention this due to unforeseen circumstances involving a piece of loo paper and a bad case of wind see blog dated 26/04/12.

3. Eye sight, well yes as predicted my eyesight literally went bad over night. I now have to hold a book about 6 feet away to read it and if someone can hold it down the end of the garden then that's even better.

4. Telling a story to the same person 3 times....Well I now do that on a daily basis due to all of you lovely followers reading my blog.

As well as worrying about all of that the main thing that bothered me was that I would feel different. Well that's true in many ways, I do feel different. Its like a switch has been turned on in my head and suddenly I can see things so much clearer. People that are in my life are there because I want them there and not just because I should have them in it. I suddenly appreciate all the little things that I took for granted before, all the small gestures of kindness that I come across each day and all the smiles that greet me.
The kids are suddenly becoming self sufficient and The Husband and I find ourselves alone most Saturday evenings while the kids are off out at sleepovers and get togethers. We have reverted to becoming extremely childish ourselves and laugh until we cannot breathe. The kids (when home) just look on in total embarrassment and then do that thing where they glance at each other and as if telepathic, then both roll their eyes in unison.
Sundays are family days, and we all make sure we are in each others company. I want my kids to look back with fond memories of our Sunday strolls and dinner round the table and their Dad doing his groovy dance moves as he cooks Sunday lunch. While I look on helplessly laughing.

Its a shame that it has taken me this long to really feel comfortable in my own skin and stop worrying about what every other bugger thinks. I am going to cherish the last few years of the kids actually wanting to come on holiday with us and am going to enjoy watching them grow up to be the amazing adults that I know they will be.

I guess what I am trying to say to anyone that is yet to reach 40 is that you do change and its definitely for the better. If you have younger children cherish them now and don't let anyone ever make you fell that you are not doing a fantastic job. People may try and put you down or crush your dreams but remember to keep them alive in your head and heart and eventually your time will come to shine.

I know that this isn't my usual style of writing and for that I apologise. So with that in mind  ...........   I am off to change my incontinence knickers for the 4th time today and then I shall be off to pluck my chin hair. Once those little joyous tasks are completed I shall then be slipping into something more comfortable like a coma...................... Oh sorry! Didn't I mention the downsides to turning 40.

Love You All
Me
xxxxxx