THIS is Forty

Tomorrow is the day that I will turn 40 years old.  It hasn't bothered me at all, unlike 30 did.  I think 30 got to me more because when your in middle school and high school 30 seems so old.  And there's always that one 30 year old at all the parties who is as creepy as they come but great for beer runs.  I didn't want to be that guy.   Now 40 comes. 

You may have heard the joke "I start all my mornings with snap, crackle and pop and that's just me getting out of bed."  Yeah, that's actually my joke.  I wrote it a couple of years ago.  But that pretty much sums up my body these days.   There are days that I wake up and a body part will just hurt.  There's no good reason for it to hurt, it just does. You deal with and move on and the next day it will be a new body part that's giving you issues.   For all you youngsters reading this, that not all that you're going to face.  Mammary and testicular sagging are most uncomfortable.  If the gravitational pull gets any worse my knees are going to be playing tennis everytime I walk. Then there's the weekly deforestation of the ear and nasal areas.  I don't know why the hair on my head continues to recede while the nose, ear and eyes brows have just started to flourish.  And if that not enough of an insult, just wait until you walk naked past a mirror, stop and back-up to get a better look, only to see what appears to be a grey pubic hair.  You tweeze it out and examine it only to find that it's not grey.  Nope it skipped grey and went straight to white.  Yes, this is the physical 40 but there is a mental side, as well.

I spent most of my life questioning everything.  I find myself more accepting these days.  Some things are just the way they are.   Also, I've learned I can't do it all myself.  I need my wife.  Gretchen and I are a team and together we are stronger. You will all learn to what's best for the team and forget about yourself.  All in all, the biggest effect on my life has been getting back to church and learning the word of God.  Many of our struggles that we face in our lives have answers already written.  Just open your Bibles and read.   As bad as the physical body is at 40, I will take it in trade for the mental peace I now possess.

Mini-vans, hair dye, healthy eating, teen-agers......Yes this is Forty and I love it.