So, today is my 43rd birthday. Forty-three. Four decades-and-a-bit. Where the hell did those years go?! I’m sure time speeds up as you get older. I know I am very aware of time passing and, more depressingly, time running out.
Last year, I wrote a post about being forty two, and what I knew to be true at that point. Not much has changed since then. I still don’t know what the heck I am doing half the time, but I guess that’s ok. I hope so anyway. Though there is still a tonne of stuff I don’t know, there are some things which I know to be true FOR SURE.
- After forty, the body basically gives up and tells you where you can stick your diets and exercise. Things sag and bulge and lose the ability to look like they did when you were twenty. This is ok. Horrible and annoying, but ok. No one else will notice except for you, because they are all too busy worrying about their own saggy bits, so don’t focus on it too much. If you do, you will become dull, depressing AND saggy. And that’s just sad.
- Don’t worry too much about trying to figure out your face shape. Whether it is a heart or an oval or a dodecahedron doesn’t really matter. Just wear what you like and grow your hair in a way that causes you the least amount of stress. No one is going to come up to you in the street and berate you for having a fringe with a round face.
- Now that you have given up on trying to understand boys,do not turn your attention to understanding men (who are, after all, just little boys with bigger and more expensive toys). It’s even harder and will give you a migraine.
- Try new hair colours. Blonde is inevitable, but these days so is pink, lilac and blue. Avoid doing that black-underneath-and-white-on-the-top style. You WILL look like a back-to-front skunk. Do not trust your friends who tell you you look “fabulous” with such a style. “Fabulous” is code word for “We understand you are going through a phase and hope you grow out of it soon”. Cover grey hair if you feel you must – don’t feel guilty or vain for doing so. Similarly, don’t let people tell you you shouldn’t let yourself go grey. Schnauzers are grey and they are awesome. Do what you want and what you can afford . Unless it’s the skunk thing.
- Hang out with small children when you can. It’s best if you ask their parents first. Don’t just pick up random children on the street – that is frowned upon. And frowning causes wrinkles.
- Be kind. Always. To yourself and to others. It is painless and gives you brownie points in heaven. Maybe. I’m not sure about that one. At the very least, it makes you happier and will stop wars from happening. Maybe, I’m not sure about that one either.
- Read all the books you can. Do not waste time on books you “can’t get in to”. Life is too short to be wasting it on books you don’t connect with. They’re like people – some of them are just not your type and can be annoying and obnoxious, dull or long-winded. Give them away and start a new book. If one thing in life is guaranteed, it’s that you will NEVER run out of books.
- Don’t worry about getting married, or finding a boyfriend (or girlfriend) or being in a relationship at all. You’re perfectly ok without that stuff. Don’t settle for something just because everyone else is doing it. You’re not everyone. You’re you. And you’re amazing. If someone comes along who deserves a piece of that amazingness, by all means hold on to them for dear life. But don’t wait for them. They might be a little bit tardy, and you can waste a lot of time hanging around, hoping they show up.
- Don’t buy shoes you have trouble walking in. You will look like a twit.
- At some point you will find yourself saying “Music today is RUBBISH!” and bemoaning the fact no one can write a decent song any more. Face it, you have become your parents. Don’t fight it.
- Try a nice bright lipstick. And then immediately wipe it off because it looks ridiculous. But yay you for trying new things!
- Accept and embrace other people’s lifestyles. There are billions of people on the Earth and every one of them is a bit weird. We’re all weird so, technically, nothing is weird. As long as you’re not hurting children, kicking puppies or mugging old ladies, you’re fine. You don’t have to join in with someone else’s lifestyle, but you should allow them to get on with it, as they see fit. Mind your own business.
- Don’t try to be someone you’re not. It’s too hard and makes people think you’re a wanker. Just be you. Crazy, perfectly imperfect YOU. People will like you or they won’t. Better they decide based on the real you.
- Be silly. As much as you can. If no one wants to join you, do it by yourself. Don’t grow up – it is tiresome and makes you forget all the wonderful things that still make up life on Earth. Believe in fairies, delight in rainbows, and remember how big the world used to seem, and how many possibilities it contained.
- Do own and wear comfortable, sensible underwear. If it itches, rides up, cuts in or just makes you angry, don’t wear it. Do not buy into the tabloid horror that is “CELEBRITY CAUGHT WEARING GRANNY KNICKERS!!!” You are not a celebrity and, even if you are, your undergarments are your own business. I’m sure most road rage incidents are caused by people wearing too-tight knickers. It just makes you cranky and unable to make rational decisions.
- Let it go. Forgive. Love. Don’t hold grudges. Build a bridge and get over it. Life is too short to hold on to bitterness. It will eat you up and make you unpleasant to be around. You will probably not get invited to parties and people will do a lot of eye-rolling around you. Don’t be that person. Let it go, let it go, let it go. If that doesn’t work, makes yourself a voodoo doll and have at it.
- Grow a garden. Whether that means a tiny succulent in a teacup on your window sill, or an acre of vegetables, grow something. Nurturing another living thing is good for your soul. It tunes you in to the Earth and life and the nature of things. But if the tiny succulent in a teacup on your window sill dies, for Goodness’ sake get rid of it. A dead thing is unsettling and depressing and will make you feel like a failure.
- Cultivate friendships. Make time for them. Let your friends know you love and care for them. Be soppy about it. People might pretend to be embarrassed but they secretly like it. Just knowing someone is thinking about them can brighten a person’s day and make the world a little less lonely. Add smiley faces to your emails, be cheeky to your boss, and bring cupcakes to work to share. Life is hard, smiles are free – to combat one, give lots of the other. Hug. Listen to people’s stories and remember small details to talk about later (so they know you paid attention). Notice when someone is sad or anxious or just struggling with the weight of the world. Just being noticed can make a big difference.
- Being sensitive is a good thing. Empathy is not weakness, it is very much a strength. Don’t let others “toughen you up” or tell you how to feel. The world has plenty of tough, un-empathetic, un-feeling people in it, and look where that has gotten us.
- You can’t fix everybody. This is something I have taken a long time to learn, and I am not done learning it. Be a good listener, offer practical help where you can, and support the people you love. But do not try and fix them. That’s not your job and you are setting yourself (and them) up for failure. Everyone is on their own journey and it is not your job to run ahead every few miles, filling in pot-holes and watching out for pedestrians, stray dogs and traffic jams. You can give them directions and point out a few landmarks, but you can’t drive the car for them.
So, another year older and probably not much wiser. But that’s ok – life is a learning process, right? I’m glad to have reached the ripe old age of forty-three. I wouldn’t like to be twenty-three again, although I wouldn’t mind having the extra twenty years up my sleeve to do some things over.
Hope you are happy today, whatever your age 🙂
Thank you for stopping by x
Upside Down Miss Jane 