On my twentieth birthday I felt like I was over the hill.  I mourned the passing of my teens, dyed my purple hair back to brown and bought a duffle coat. The feeling lasted about a week before I decided that twenty wasn’t so bad but thirty was old. In my thirties I did a degree alongside the eighteen year olds which made me feel ancient but nothing prepared me for that forty feeling.  I dreaded it so much that I stayed off work for a couple of days hoping that nobody would remember. They did and I received a lovely bunch of flowers which whilst very much appreciated, made me feel older still.  Age is relative though and I can see now from the vantage point of sixty that twenty and thirty are young and forty is actually a fantastic age. If only I’d known then what I know now…

1 It’s young. Especially when looking back when you’re over 50.

2 You’re still counting ahead to the future, not counting backwards from when you might die.

3 Your arms are still as youthful as they were when you were 20. Appreciate them before they go overnight in your fifties and you develop upper arm envy.

4 You’re young enough to master a skill before the meno-brain fog kicks in and you can’t remember what you had for breakfast.

6 Your skin still fits your face.

7 It’s easier to change jobs. There may be no age discrimination but when employers see O Levels or GCEs on your CV rather than GCSEs they think you might be hard to train – like an old dog.

8 All that time spent moisturising and nourishing the epidermis is a waste of time. Nothing stops the ageing process so concentrate on the exercise – getting into a walking habit  is one of the best things you can do for yourself.

9 Drinking alcohol is a pointless waste of time.  Life is so much better when you kick it into touch.   I read Kick the Drink Easily by Jason Vale and happily never touched another drop.

10 Fifty is nothing to worry about.  My fifties were fantastic.  I trained as a fitness instructor, belly danced on stage and set up fitness classes using hula hoops. (the insomnia has it’s uses, but don’t worry about that yet).

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