The buzzards were circling

Today I was driving my little red convertible. This was a 40th birthday present to myself. Since the age of 16, I have coveted a little deuce coupe. This Summer, I decided that it was now or never so I bought my "feel good" car.

While I was sitting at an incredibly long red-light, I noticed a dark figure overhead. I looked up to see a buzzard fly above me, just a little too close for comfort. As I continued to wait for the light to change, I couldn't help but be aware of the buzzard as it continued to circle above me. This was a four lane highway with no roadkill in sight. However, something about a middle-aged woman driving a convertible must have seemed inviting to a necrophiliac bird who normally preys on decaying carcasses.

I looked up at the bird and told him, "I'm not dead yet!" as the light turned green and I sped away.

It's My Birthday

It is official. I am forty. That's years. I am forty years old. Maybe if I say it enough, it will actually sink in. Although thirty never did. I always felt 27. That was the year I became a mom. In my mind, I stopped aging at that point.

But, today I turned forty. They say that life begins at forty. I feel as if I have already lived quite a life, so what exactly is it that will now begin?

I'm moving into the second half of my life. Is the first half the uphill climb, and the second half all downhill? Do we spend the first 39 years trying to find ourselves, prove our worth to society and earn the love and respect of others? If so, then is this second half where we reap the benefits of all that hard work?

Then this would be the time in my life that I stop searching for who I am, and instead I embrace who I already am. I no longer need to prove my worth, but now relax and feel worthwhile. I have earned the love and respect of others, so I now learn to love and respect myself. Is that what they mean by life beginning at forty?

I believe maybe it is. Please follow along, as I share the journey of this second half of my life. For those readers who are also forty +, please share with me your insights into this stage of life.