Thoughts on 40

[karter]

big respect to you giggirl.:)-D

[SeanMacGabhann]

Giggirl

a post to remind me why I love this place. And you. Marvellous stuff

[Ted Max]

Jeez - I'd hate to run into giggirl when she's feeling coherent.

[daizie]

Very honest and brave of you giggirl - :)

[Ladymuck]

Yes it was...extremely.

[mockney piers]

Wow, a wonderful post. I'm doffing just about anything I can find right about now!

[computedshorty]

Turning forty.

So far most are preparing to become over forty, and ask what changes will happen to them or their family.

If I can look back half my lifetime, I don't think I have worried much as to what would happen to me at any age, if it was going to happen then San fairy Ann, I got this attitude from my time in the war, I was bombed, buried in the debris, shot at, fallen from buildings, been a passenger in several vehicles when they smashed, been in Hospital several times, five and a half years taken involuntary from my life serving the King & Queen. Worked in jobs that I disliked so left as they were just repartition., a waste of my life.

I have never wanted or had a new car, I have not been on holiday for over fifty years.

At sixty five I resigned from all the Local History Society, Military Associations, Preservation Society, Classic Car, Postcard Collectors, Old Comrades Club.

This I thought would give me the time to do the things that I wanted to for years.

What you cant foresee is your own heath, once that starts to fail you are then restricted to where you can get to, and how to get there. Along the way not only do you loose your parents, your brothers and sisters, those school chums and those you had in the army, and their children, you are alone. You fall into a pigeon hole, That old bloke is in the way again.

If I decide that I will do something I will do it. At seventy I decided I was going to write a book , I went to a College and enquired if I could learn as a mature student to use the computer as I had never seen one, let alone used one , I sat two one year courses, wrote several books just for my own close friends. Contacted the former Clubs and the other Societies and now write their monthly newsletters. I am more occupied than ever before. The future? I write myself a list of things I will do the next day, as soon as I wake up I get up as I feel better not in bed, although it might takes me a while to get ready.

The only advice I can give is, be content use your life to the full, don't expect things to come to you, go and get them, work hard to get that extra thing and once you have it you are content that it is yours you worked for it. I find that should I owe something to a person I go well out of my way to pay that back.

Even just a few pence. I used to get told off constantly if a friend admired a thing of mine I would give it to them my wife would say ?You will give me away next!"

I have even booked my own Funeral and paid for it. ( Just in Case it is ever needed ).

With my luck I will probably live for ever and never get my monies worth back.

[woofmarkthedog]

Well....

It's a bit like this

"Sure your life is over"

Then you get groovy with it "Yeah 40 suits me, I'm cool"

43 comes along ( oh ,you've got the feel of this now )

BANG....ALARMS GO OFF

MID-LIFE CRISIS .....WOOP WOOP ...ENCCHHHHH..ENCHHHHHHHHHH....WOOOOOOOOP WOOOOOOOOOOP NERTTTTTTTT

W**F

[GSJ57]

Giggirl - this over forty something applauds you!!

[OutOfFocus]

legalbeagle Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I'm 37 and dreading being 40.

From the subject I thought this was about buses. Legalbeagle has confirmed this

:))

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Oh Giggirl, I wish you were my mum - very wise and poignant words.

[TRB]

To you all, but GigGirl and ComputedShorty especially, thanks.

[emc]

Absolutely dreading it - cried on my 39th birthay and think will really, really cry on this one (this summer) Pathetic but that's how I feel (and not sure why as have much to be thankful for)

[kpc]

Bloody hell GigGirl. As a male turning 50 this year, I applaud your attitude (and whole-heartedly agree with it!).

[Ditz]

Ahhh those early posts have really made me laugh - thank you :))

To add my ten pennies worth: I'm a female who turned 40 two years ago. It did make me stop and think and to seriously assess my life. I didn't notice 30 at all and partied my way through my 30s, but 40 was different.

It wasn't about my age or how I looked - I've always believed that was fairly irrelevant, it's the way you think that keeps you young - it was my 'achievements' I was assessing: was my life the way I thought it would be, especially with regards income, status, respect, influence, prospects and so on; had my life been full of adventure; had it been well-lived so far; had I taken opportunities, missed others... I did a LOT of thinking and a lot of looking back (never a good thing).

So yeah, I would say, it is a wake up call - but don't wallow or dwell on what's done, rather use it to direct the next 10 years; do all the things you really want to do and get on with them NOW, dont wait. Life's not over, but remember how quickly 40 years can go... :o)

As an aside: my 91-year-old aunty died recently, and at her funeral it took about 5 minutes to sum up her entire life. I don't want that to be me, I'm with Kipling, I want to "...fill the unforgiving minute/With sixty seconds' worth of distance run" :)

You might also be interested in this (I'm going): http://www.theschooloflife.com/Sermons/Charles-Leadbeater-on-Perspective

[TillieTrotter]

GG I heart you. xxxx

See how young and cool I am with the terminology now I'm in my forties!:))