40 going on 18

I hit the big 40 in just over 6 months. Unlike my mum, I am looking forward to being 40.

My mum hated the idea of reaching her 40th birthday, in fact we were told not to organise a party of any kind. Of course we ignored her and when she came home from work and saw the banner stretching across the front of the house congratulating her on her 4th decade she continued to drive past the house instead of stopping. She did eventually attend her party, after giving us all a good telling off, and of course enjoyed it.

I am looking forward to being 40. I am much more comfortable in my own skin and having struggled with my identify and self-worth as a teenager, I feel that I have now grown into a person that I quite like.

I don’t feel 40, in fact I feel about 18! Granted my body and energy levels can struggle with that at times but my mind is forever young and I randomly act like a complete maniac! Hubby fell in love with my unpredictability and zest for life and a lot of that is down to how young I mentally feel. I have such a loving Hubby and Beautiful B is my world and I have grown so much closer to my parents as I have grown older; all of that provides for a wonderful, happy life.

So, I have so much to celebrate and I intend on celebrating it with family and friends in September. Not with mum and dad, who are always away on holiday for my birthday. Being allergic to the sun (come on, I had to get the nuttiness from somewhere), mum has to travel at certain times of the year and I am certainly not expecting her to cut her holiday short to attend my party but they will be with me in spirit.

I have tasked Hubby, Beautiful B and Angel in the design of a cake. Being awkward, I want a novelty cake that depicts my personality and who better to design it but the 3 people who know me best?

The DJ is booked, although somewhat worryingly he appears to be not too well organised and has rang to confirm the booking twice already. Now we need to specify any particular songs I would like playing – 80s American soft rock will feature in there somewhere I am sure. I am still deciding on a buffet – do I spend a fortune and get a standard buffet (who knew they got soooo expensive) or do I go with a hot pot supper? Decisions, decisions.

I am still to design invitations. Having a creative friend certainly helps and I will enjoy helping to make them – memories such as these will be held dear when I am old and grey.

My 40th will be a celebration of my life so far and the beginning of the rest of my life. The old saying that “Life begins at 40” could in some ways hold true but I would prefer to say that my life truly began, for me, at 32 when Hubby arrived in mine and Beautiful B’s life. My 40th birthday party will be a celebration of how wonderful my life is, of how lucky I am to have such a fantastic family and friends and of how much I am looking forward to being as nutty as I am now into my golden years.