And Then I Was 40

So, I turned 40 last week. It just happened, I really couldn’t stop it. I mean, what do you do?

I, personally, did a little bit of this –

Because when you turn 40, you should drink the monster margarita. It was a nice primer for what eventually happened –

Photo credit – Bridget A.

Because if there is one thing I am really good at, it’s embarrassing myself in front of my friends! I wasn’t surprised by the big sombrero or the singing. I WAS however, surprised by the waiter sticking whip cream all over my face. See, you can tell in this picture how truly surprised I am.

Just in case you can’t, here’s another view –

Photo credit – Starlit S.

If I’m being 100% honest, there’s nothing I would rather have had for my 40th birthday than a face full of whip cream and the time spent looking down a long table at the laughing faces of my friends. Because no matter how old we are, knowing that folks will show up to your birthday dinner is a special feeling. Being cared about is the best gift of all.

My actual birthday day, my wonderful husband came and had lunch with me and we took in an afternoon movie after my boss fell for my sad-kitty-big-eyed-stare and let me leave work. My mom sent me flowers, complete with black balloons. My BFF gave me one of the most thoughtful gifts I’ve ever received and the culmination of a wonderful evening out with friends was the icing on my face. I mean, cake!

Special thanks to:

• My husband. Still full of surprises after 16 years. Wonderful, wonderful surprises.
• My mom, who watched the kids so I could go out drankin’. I mean, so I could celebrate. And who I look at and know that even though I might feel 40, I will never really look my age.
• All of my friends for coming to my dinner. That their individual personalities shined through the calls, cards and gifts is a wonderful thing.
• My boss, who let me spend the afternoon of my birthday hiding in a dark theater with my husband, away from all responsibilities for 3 hours.

The five-year (old) mission – to explore, seek and boldly go

Since my oldest son has started Kindergarten, I have uncovered a slew of new emotions and general Mother-type feelings that are kicking in for the first time. I know it’s not really the same thing, but I feel like I need to develop my version of this:

“Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.”

As an old-time Trekkie, I relate to this and the way each episode (day) began with the anticipation of the adventure ahead. If I had my own applicable version of this, I would recite is just before I started rounding up both of my kids, backpacks, lunchbox, my purse and everything else for that whirlwind 10 minutes it takes to gather, get out to the car, get everything/body in the car and leave.

Since I’m the queen of the bullet-lists, here is a bullet-list update of the last 3 weeks:

• I love to see my son’s new-found independence. But I know he’s still adjusting to it because he turns around to see if I’m still there all the way into school. This is at the drop off line in the morning.
• He comes home and declares “A noun is a person, thing or place! Even animals are nouns.” Unsolicited statements like this make me so happy.
• But since my instinct is to want to tell him how smart he is, I also try and throw some “good effort” in there because I want him to know that making your best effort is just as valuable as just knowing how to do it.
• We are now playing soccer! Talk about piling it on!
• No cafeteria food. We’ve settled on ham sandwiches. I’m cool with that. I don’t mind making his lunch up. It’s been no pressure, he eats everything and we’re all good.
• Speaking of ham, it’s now become our regular thing for him to go to the deli counter with his Dad and sample the Boar’s Head ham. He thinks it’s the best thing ever and he’s more invested in eating the ham that he “picked out”.
• He’s not wearing his glasses. At all.
• His teacher, during open house, made me feel very good about his adjusting to big school. Not that there are no problems, I’ve been called to come up there already, but that I think he’s going to be just fine once he realizes this is his new norm. He’s still pushing boundaries now, which is something he’s quite good at.

September is going to be super busy with work, soccer, upcoming family camping trip (!) and continued general adjusting. Gotta remember to stop and enjoy things a bit too. To make the most out of the adventure and remember to do our best while we seek, explore and boldly go to kindergarten.

School – It’s Happening

Monday was my oldest son’s first day of Kindergarten. All of my anxieties were put to rest when he said to me, “Do I get to go back tomorrow?” Here’s to hoping that enthusiasm stays with him for the next 12 years.

Special thank you to my husband and RJ’s Dad for the awesome “My first day….” sign.