Try this: Name things that you love about being over 40, quick. Some of you may say about finally having a blast with your kids, that dream job, or a patch of garden that you have been maintaining since who knows when. But whatever you’re happy about or proud of today, chances are you have not included in your I-am-thankful-for list a thing about your body, face, or health. Because you realized that being over 40 strip you off the privilege to think about the things you cared for when you were in your 20s.
Our Reality
But let’s face it, when you reached the big 4-0 you start to feel the things you haven’t felt then. You’re body is no longer that flexible anymore, you hear it pop and crack even with the slightest movement, and you start to feel that you don’t have the energy to even go after five. You know your tire is starting to wear out; after all, being a mother, wife, the forever-there, ever supportive manager, and (gasp) grandmamma is definitely not an easy task – especially if you do them all at the same time.
But being over 40 isn’t without perks. In fact, women age 40 and up have so much freedom to do whatever they want, when they want to do it, says Susan Patton Thoele, author of The Courage to Be Yourself: A Woman’s Guide to Emotional Strength and Self-Esteem and Freedoms After 50.
We believe women over 40 have so many things to be thankful for, only that you have to sharpen your senses so you can know and feel it.
You are more able to take care of your family - and your self.
With age comes knowledge. And after years of being a mother and a wife, you know that your experience of playing these roles will tell you what works and what doesn’t. And with age, you become the authority; you have earned your family’s trust about the things that really matters and work. A just out-of-college doctor can’t get the trust of his patients easily than a 50 year old mother who is in the same waiting area with the doctor’s patients.
You can act silly and ‘disgraceful’ – and get away with it.
Running late for a dinner? Don’t worry, anyone in the table will understand – except if you’re having dinner with the ladies. Aging is all about freedom, being who you are, and happy about the things that you have. Whether it’s crying out loud in the movie house or just saying the used-to-be forbidden L word just about every second to your daughter, being over 40 just makes these things forgivable.
You have more than just girlfriends to call when you throw a party
With age, you gain tons and tons of friends to attend your party or just be at your house when you call for game nights. And what is best what about having a lot of friends is that you have more people to call when you need to, uh, troubleshoot something at your house. And chances are they’ll do it for free, especially when you made friends with your reliable local repair man. With good friends, you have so much to look forward to: A day at the market or even just shopping for a supply.
You have more time to just be you
Remember when you used to say “I just don’t have the time” and really mean it? Back at those days, you can’t seem to find the time to go to the gym, run before dawn, or just maintain your garden. Today, you are blessed with the gift of time to just be yourself, do what you want to do, and when you want to do it. Whether it is learning how to paint, sleep longer and better, or just enjoy the house you have worked for all your life, being over 40 or 50 gives you the freedom to enjoy life as it is.
You become more accepting
With age comes the knowledge that you CANNOT do everything and be everyone to everybody. Being over 40, you know that you cannot please everyone and that you can’t have everything going your way. One of the joys of aging is that you become more accepting, more flexible to just see things go off hand or even knock you off your feet.
The Book for Women Over 40
Perimenopause is one of the least understood conditions that women over 40 have to go through before the big M. In spite of the researches and studies about women and their conditions, even experts get puzzled with this relatively newly revealed condition.
In this book, Dr. Stephen Goldstein provides no-baloney advice on how women can cope with the myriad of symptoms that perimenopause brings. If you're one of the million of women over 40 who face often confusing conditions, this book dares to de-mystify it all.
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