Finally Forty

When I was in high school, my English teacher assigned us the task of making our own tombstones. At the time, I seriously envied and admired my older cousins, many of whom were Greatful Dead followers and so my quote was "What a long strange trip it's been." [I probably can't name three Dead songs, but the quote stood on its own merit and works every time I get to reflecting on my life.]

For the past several years, I have had a bunch of 'older' friends tell me how much I'm going to love my forties. How much more clarity and wisdom I'll have now that I have survived the teens, twenties and thirties. I have really kind of looked forward to this moment. I am forty.

So what's next? Who knows - today I 'stood' on a surfboard, which was really the only thing that I ever wanted to do but didn't. [I'm not a bucket list person, because I think that's just about creating guilt and regret - if I REALLY wanted to do something, I should have done it. And everything I have done, or not done, has been my choice.]

So, here's to another 40 strange years. Or maybe more. Look at world, here I come. Again.