40 | But I Smile Anyway...

Here’s where the old pics come into play!

Tonight my old school class are having a reunion! I am going to be travelling to Birmingham to my parents, with Lil Princess in tow, to hopefully see many old faces from my school years! We have all changed, married, grown up, become mums or career women, or both, and our main reason for meeting this year? We have all finally turned 40! I thing I was the last one to hit the milestone, and one of the others thought it would be a great time to meet up again!

I’m not sure how many of us are going to be there, out of 50 girls, spread amongst 2 classes, but I am so excited! Some, I haven’t seen for 24 years, some 21, some a little less than that, but I think I can safely say I haven’t met any of my class mates for at least 13 years! The power of social media means we have all been parts of each others lives in one way or another. There probably won’t be huge surprises as to who is who, hopefully we will all remember each others names! (I was always known as Ratty, to my friends, nothing to do with personality, but shortened from my full name Ratinder, once we had watched Wind In The Willows for the first time in school together!)

I haven’t been to a reunion before, and living in Kent after marriage, a good 3 hours away it was never likely that I would bump into people! So here goes to a fabulous night of reminiscing!

I shall make sure I post all about it soon!

Vintage 1975

Nope, not vintage cars, wine or clothes…
Vintage 1975 people!
Yup, this is the year I hit 40, and I’m not the only one in my family, or indeed circle of friends! All of my old school friends were older than me, as I was the youngest in my class, actually, I was a year ahead, so most have turned, or will do soon. My lovely boss is only a couple of months my senior, so it’s her time too, and within our family, I have several cousins, and cousins kids hitting the milestone, along with my brother-in-law (BIL) and his wife, my sister-in-law (SIL).
Yesterday was BIL’s turn.
He really isn’t bothered, age means nothing. Yet my SIL is petrified at the thought of turning ,Urgh! 40!!!
Well, yesterday we got lovely food, and a gorgeous cake to celebrate, and SIL had ballooned the place, more for the kids than anything, there were banners up, and cards and presents to open.
He wobbled, yesterday, my BIL. Seeing the ’40’ balloons and cards, the cake with a huge ’40’ emblazoned across the top, he said it sort of hit him that he was ‘getting on’.

How do I feel about turning 40?

Well to be honest, I don’t know! It doesn’t bother me, in fact a great reason to celebrate! I don’t really know how I am supposed to feel at 40. When we were younger, 40 sounded so old!! 40-something? I thought you were ready for the Zimmer frames and bed pans!
Now, I sit here, and quite honestly, apart from now being the mother of 2 kids and a cat, and a home owner, I feel pretty much the same as when I was 30! And even that birthday wasn’t a huge deal to me either.
I am lucky though, most people are shocked when they hear my age, expecting me to be younger, can’t complain! I’ve always had that. It used to irk me at a younger stage, when you desperately want to look mature, and folk would say “You’ll be glad of it later in life!” Well they weren’t wrong!
It’s all about how you feel inside, anyway.
My Pops always says the same, and at nearly 70, you wouldn’t think it. He forgets himself, and I know I have mentioned this before, but when he dances (he’s a GREAT dancer!) he forgets his age and then watches footage back from that day, and says “I look like an old fool dancing (he so doesn’t! Blows away the youngsters!) I felt 21 that day!”
So, I don’t feel old, I don’t feel young, I feel great, healthy and happy.

(Oh, and I firmly believe that ole chestnut…you’re as young as the man you feel… And my Hubby Dearest is younger than me, so I’ll be fine for a good few years yet!!)