Is there a life after 40?

After dropping my girls off at their schools, I went to the supermarket to do this week’s grocery shopping. The pantry is quite well stocked and I mainly needed to fill up on fruits, vegetables, dairy products and proteins. The menu I’m planning for this week features the French classic Steak Haché, Indian Butter Chicken with saffron rice, spagetti Bolognese and white fish fillets with green pea purée – all dishes are family favorites, even the fish. When I went to pay, the ladies working in the cashiers were talking to each other and kept talking even as one of them were scanning my items. They were talking about how difficult it is to get older and compared their ages. One was turning 45 this year, the other 44. Both looked at least 10 years older. They involved me in their conversation and I had to confess that I’m turning 40 this year. ”Life is over after 40, you know” said the 44 year old-to-be with a sigh of sadness. ”I heard that 40 is the new 30, so I’m keeping my hopes up” I replied cheerfully. ”Yeah, so they say” she retorted and added ”but you actually look good”. ”Ehhh.... thank you”, I said. Luckily the ladies dropped the subject, stopped chatting both with me and each other and just finished my check-out. 

In Europe and USA, turning 40 is a kind of mile stone. All the gorgeous, desirable women like Heidi Klum, Jennifer Lopez, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Angelina Jolie just to mention a few, they are all in their 40’s. Here in Australia, the women seem to think that it’s the end of the road when they turn 40. The radio and tv-personalities Chrissie & Jane often make fun of their ages in the morning show on the radio. They talk about their bodily pains and aches, how their teeth are chipping off, hair is falling off and growing where it’s not supposed to grow and so on. Judging from they way they carry on, I would have guessed that they are in their mid-50’s but apparently they are both my age. I don’t recognize any of their symptoms of turning 40 – on the contrary. I think this is the perfect age: I’m old enough to have experience from life and be taken seriously and young enough to do all sorts of stuff and enjoy life. I’m happy with where I am right now, married to a wonderful man and proud mother of two lovely girls. But if I do get a divorce within these couple of years, I’m getting myself a 25-year old boyfriend. I’m just saying.