Happy Birthday!! I'll meet up with ya in December.
I'm kind of looking forward to it. For my diminutive 3-0 my wife and I held a wake. I wore a suit...laid out on a table (beer in hand) and a cousin delivered a ulogy for my lost youth. It was a family thing and the nieces & nephews who were old enough to understand attended and pretended to cry. It was great. I'm coming up empty so far for a similar idea for 4-0.
Just do your best to avoid people who have nothing better to do than hit you with, "It's all down hill..." etc. Sometimes the nicest people can't help but dump on others because of their own age issues. I usually just fire back, "Thanks so much...I wish nothing but the best for you too."
I'm not sure about this...you seem to ignore most of my pearls of advanced-age wisdom.
So I think Dave is ready...he should go out and purchase the Gigi DVD. Its wise lessons in life are wasted (maybe even "waisted") on those under 40. I sent a copy to my nephew when he turned 40 earlier this year.
Well, Dennis, I didn't want to mention it here because I didn't want to scare Dave...but you and I both know that the whole "gaining wisdom with age" thing is only good for so long...and then starts to go in the other direction!
Happy birthday Dave! I beat you by a few months and am loving it! Life is good.
For those in their 20s wondering how their 30s will be....I can say "wonderful". For me...graduated from college at 22 and spent 22-29 building a career, saving money and trying to do the things "grown ups" do. From 30-40 I was able to start enjoying the fruits of my labors, I was (and still am) very happily married and having a good career has enabled us to do things we enjoy doing not to mention fund this sick home theater hobby of mine . Sure there has been sadness along the way with losing family members and the horrors of living through 9/11 and losing hundreds of co-workers in that awful event. That's life.
Maybe I'm a "glass half full" kind of guy but I enjoy each year more than the last and treasure all the blessings life has brought thus far. Even the times I curse my knees for not moving the way I want them to
I hope your day has been special Dave. Having a newborn to share it with undoubtedly makes it all the more so.
It's not all downhill from 40 by any means. You're just entering the phase where you start to wish you'd known at 25 what you now know at 40, and can capitalize on your accumulated life experiences.
Just remember while you're lying in that thing that it was already used to store DEAD bodies!
As for the forties blues, I don't suffer from them too much mainly because my twenties were spent finding my place in society, my thirties were spent in a somewhat routine home and work lifestyle (no wife or kids though), and my forties are now being spent trying to launch a television station! The downhill turn hasn't happened to me yet.
Dave, say goodbye and good riddance to your thirties. You have a family now. That's a whole new adventure right there! The only time you should feel depressed about your life is the day WHEN you pick up the new mini-van at the dealership!