I turned 40 last this year (prove it). There was a party. Friends. Champagne and cupcakes. I didn’t fall off my bar stool flashing my underwear to the place; in this way it was different than my 21st birthday party.
The day after my 40th birthday party, I noticed my boobs looked a little weird. Even in my favorite tee shirt. With a bra. And by “weird” I mean “like someone else’s.” This didn’t happen overnight. It may have something to do with my three children.
Mysteriously, around this time, other body parts as well began to appear “weird” or, as I like to say “other worldly.” In spin class one day (because I have gone, like, one day in the past year), I looked in the mirror behind me and thought, “whose old lady legs are those?” It was the mirror behind. me. You get it.
My hair, which I have been coloring since my twenties, is almost entirely grey. Except for the jet black ends and the copper red middle. The roots are grey. Boxed hair color kits were a good idea at 25. Questionable at 35. Now at 40 (did you say something?), my eyesight is weaker than even my upper body strength. I can’t be certain the color I dyed my hair last. I have a clue from the stains on the bathroom wall that remind me of my favorite tv show. Dexter.
A few years ago I was concerned about a “thing” on my face. That’s the best I can do: it was a thing occupying space between my left ear and mouth. It came. It stayed. I learned it was an “age spot.” Just recently I had it removed by my brilliant and brave dermatologist. This week I invested in concealer to cover the scar after someone asked me, “What’s that thing on your face?”
My mother in law visited this week. “You’ve done something different,” she said. “I got a hair cut,” I said. I had major Botox therapy, I didn’t say. But it’s true. My forehead has been set back 20 years. It looks so young it wants to smoke Parliaments and listen to Indigo Girls.
I have never had age anxiety. Weight, face, nose, body, sweat and hair anxiety–yes, yes, yes, yes, good God yes, and I-thought-I-should-get-a-perm, yes. But never did I worry about getting–or looking–older. This fear is new and deserves some thought–as well as a lot of cash–thrown at it.
It is not aging that scares me. To be honest, the alternative to aging is less attractive. I don’t have a comfort level with death. Some people do; I think that’s awesome. If I am stuck on a sinking ship, I hope it is with one of those people. Getting older–being closer to 50 than 30 now–has illuminated a world of new vulnerabilities: of body, of lifestyle, of legacy. All that is easy and comfortable and blessed for me today will be different and perhaps gone in the future. Can you blame me for wanting to suspend this process that steals life’s luxuries, such as walking briskly without pain, or carrying two children and a bag of groceries up several flights of stairs?
There is a poem by my favorite poet, Jane Kenyon, called “Otherwise.” Here it is:
I got out of bed/ on two strong legs./ It might have been/ otherwise. I ate/ cereal, sweet/ milk, ripe, flawless/ peach. It might/ have been otherwise./ I took the dog uphill/ to the birch wood./ All morning I did/ the work I love.// At noon I lay down/ with my mate. It might/ have been otherwise./ We ate dinner together/ at a table with silver/ candlesticks. It might/ have been otherwise./ I slept in a bed/ in a room with paintings/ on the walls, and/ planned another day/ just like this day./ But one day, I know,/ it will be otherwise.
I don’t like to imagine it, but as Ms. Kenyon (who died young at age 47) so devastatingly points out, one day will be otherwise. I don’t know what that will be or mean or feel like, what my children will think or remember of me. For now, I like to think my smooth forehead and ability to run after my children with ease are both indicative of time standing still. If I try and wish and work hard enough, neither will leave me.
Here is a weird picture of me one recent morning.
Mama One to Three 
Love this!
Many thanks! Nice to see you here!
Haha what a great way to look at aging!
I appreciate that. many thanks for stopping by!
Love this. Totally identify.
thank you!
I so get it. But, trust me, you don’t want to hear about the post-40 “man” things/weirdnesses.
haha! I watch Louis C.K. for that!
Ok….I have now resolved to live life to its fullest..everyday until it’s otherwise..
Thanks for making me laugh and making me strong!
you are great Kelly! thank you for your support!
Great post Wendy!…is this photo before or after botox?? i’d love to see before and after pics 😉
that is after but a weird, first thing in the morning after. not even sure why i took that. lol. thanks maria!!
So beautiful, Wendy. I love your heart and the intention you place behind all you do. I hope I can look at 40 as gracefully as you do. You are such a gem.
Thank you Kristen! You are a gem as well! I appreciate your support!
Kristen, you didn’t just say, “when I’m as old as you” did you?! Missing both of you guys!
ha! she did say that, didn’t she? you guys are missed as well! we watch Mary Poppins a lot though.
awesome. i love this. i convinced myself that my age spots were freckles. i guess just really, really large freckles.
they are freckles Lauren! 🙂 glad you visited today!!
I’ll be 42 in October. But I tell people, “I’m 35 with 7 years of experience.” I can relate All Too Well with everything that you wrote 🙂
ha! I am sure most people have no idea what you mean. awesome.
Love this post! Can’t wait to read your next one!
thanks Keri! I can’t wait to share all the info on my botox experience! 🙂 It has changed my face–I mean my life! lol.
Great post, Wendy. And I think you look incredible!! (I am also a huge advocate of the Botox therapy, though, lol)
Sarah, I knew we’d be friends! thanks!!
I think you look great!
too kind Carri! it’s a weird pic but for some reason… it’s the real me. 🙂
You do NOT look weird at all. You look gorg — in person and in photos!
This post is so frigging hilarious! You are so funny! (“In spin class one day (because I have gone, like, one day in the past year)” — HILARIOUS!)
But the overall theme is absolutely correct. Getting older always brings on some form of anxiety. I think that’s especially true for women.
Thank you Alicia! Right back at ya! Indeed, there are many anxieties along with many joys and blessings of getting older. I do what I can, will be my new motto!
Love this post and so glad you shared Otherwise, I hadn’t read it before but love it. So far, I think, I am aging slowly. Not sure what I will do one of these days when life catches up with me, maybe just be grateful that it took so long :).
thank you Jessica! Jane Kenyon is amazing. Her work is simple and honest and… Oh, I could go on… I had fun writing this and thinking about what it is about the years passing that are starting to rattle me. Not sure of the answers but love the process. 🙂
OH pht. You look great. I love that poem.
LOVE that poem, right? thank you!
Great post! Visiting from Write on the Edge.
thank you and thank you for visiting!
isn’t 40 supposed to be the new 20? or 30? or something. I have been having my “encore 29th birthday” for many years now, but my next birthday is the-one-you-speak of. not sure how i feel about it, but you are definitely rockin 40!
I keep hearing 40 is the new something. It just feels like 40 to me! LOL. I had a few psychic changes last year. kind of interesting. not bad. just new… have no fear! thanks!!
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There is so much I love about this … the poem, smoking Parliaments and listening to the Indigo Girls (which, like your forehead, I also did in my 20s … hell, I still listen to the Indigo Girls), the not-quite-fear-but-something-like-it-ness of turning 40, the weirdness of body things.
I still listen to Indigo Girls too of course!! Thank you for all your support– I know you share much of my existential angst!