F was pretty easy to come up with, it was the reason for this blog after all. Just in case you are a new acquaintance (pleased to meet you!) let me explain. Earlier this year I began to think about my upcoming birthday and what it would mean to me.
You hear so much in our society about the big 4-0 and being curious (nosy) I wanted to look into why. I'm sorry to disappoint you if you are expecting some mind blowing revelation because I haven't found much, except for the dated view (I hope) that our lives were at least half lived by this age, and that with our youth behind us, all that was left was to sit in an armchair by the window, shouting at kids who walked by, refusing to return balls that ended up in our garden, and chewing our false teeth.
It was fun reading up on the subject, especially the eponymous "Life begins at Forty", written in 1932 by Walter Pitkin- it is somewhat dated, but his views on the damage an education can to do a woman were worth a laugh, if nothing else; "college makes women physically and socially unattractive".
Anway, after intensive research and indepth interviews with fellow forties (often late at night over a drink - that's just how dedicated I am) I can reveal the following; most of us are actually happpier now than at other points in our lives, Walt was right about that; "happpiness comes more easily after 40". We have got to know ourselves, accept our weaknesses and make the most of our strong points,life is more comfortable now.
That might sound dull, but it certainly isn't, it means that knowing what I love doing, I don't have to waste my time on other stuff, and feeling perfectly at ease with my lifestyle gives me a solid base from which to go off and discover the rest of what the world has on offer, I can't wait!
I have certainly enjoyed discovering new interests and projects, and learning new things over the last few months, although Walt wasn't right about it all; it would be depressing to think that life starts, or worse, that it finishes at a any age.
Finally, in the words of Jack Benny -"age is strictly a case of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter".
