Life...a little after 40

A couple of weeks ago, we went to see This is 40. I didn’t really care if the critics raved about it, I just had a feeling the show would resonate. And it did. I loved it. It validated the fact we all tend to muddle through the same, intimate, terrifying, despicable, lovely, hilarious, monstrous, adorable, awful and mundane issues of everyday life. The themes of the movie I liked best? (Anti-spoiler alert...the rest of the blog contains no information about the movie.)

Parenting: Even if you ever pictured yourself as a June Cleaver or a Claire Huxtable, by the time you turn forty, your parenting style turns a bit lax. Ideas of organic feeding troughs, or unadulterated PBS are tossed out the window. Oh, sure you have spurts of ambitiousness, banning sugar and declaring family game nights in lieu of the TV. But it only takes a few days of Parchesi before you're curled up with the kids, eating zebra cakes, and watching Ted for the third time. Okay, maybe that's just me.

Romance: Not too many years ago, I’d put a fair amount of thought into my New Year’s Eve attire. And I still do! But my thoughts have taken an Eddie Bauer approach. I choose the sweater that will keep me fairly warm and select shoes which will have the least likelihood of me falling. I'm not to the hip-breaking point, but I certainly don't want to trip. And if I would’ve had just an inkling of romance in me this year, I wouldn’t have chowed down on the yummy Brussels sprouts that commanded me to the ladies room and left my stomach spinning, spinning, spinning. I didn’t even get to eat my dessert! (Only someone over 40 would be pissed about that.) My lucky husband. We were home just a few seconds before the ball dropped. In central time, that means 10:59:50.

Money and In-Laws: In the interest of time, I think I'll leave these topic for another time. They deserve their own post.

  

You know what? I kind of like this juncture in our lives. We certainly are more interesting…i.e., this time when our morphing body parts seem to be taking a life of their own. Who knows what mole or whisker we'll wake up to find growing on our face or back? The only certainty? My husband and I will be the only people vaguely interested. And we'll probably discuss the protrusion, with a sense of glee, for the entire morning.

Yep. This is 40. Wonder for 50 will have in store?