Richmond Parents Monthly | Family Magazine

the frumpy zone by colleen r. lee

Finally Flaunting Forty

Those of you who have read my column for the past year may remember last July when I was bemoaning that I would soon be 40… a whole year away. I promised myself that I would spend my 39th year coming to terms with my lost youth. And I think I have… kind of… well… the truth: the past year has been really hard… but I think I’ll be fine. (Note to self: Take a deep cleansing breath. Exhale slowly.) Last year, I made all sorts of change of life resolutions. I was going to diet and start an exercise regime so my sculpted body would make Madonna jealous. But I have never been into self sacrifice when it comes to food. I actually enjoy food. I like to eat. I don’t want to waste my time counting calo-ries and ingesting artificial, card-board-tasting food that is so over-processed it would probably still be edible when I turn 80. LIFE IS TOO SHORT. When I die, it’s not going to mat-ter that I was “good” and didn’t order dessert on vacation. (Isn’t it sad that our society actually uses charac-ter-based words to describe some-thing so vain?) This month I am ready to face the facts. I’m 40. Big deal! So what if I don’t have that lean size 0 body that I once used to have. (OK, you got me—size 0 wasn’t even invented when I was 20.) So what if my eyes have laugh lines… it means the past forty years have been joyful. So what if my hips are rounder and wider…it means that my body was healthy enough to bring my three amazing children into this world. The miracle of aging is being secure enough in myself that I no longer care about superficial things. I can eat what I want, dress how I want and eventually, when my hair is a lovely shade of lilac and I walk with a cane, say whatever I want. If I’m blessed enough to live for another 40 years, then I’m going to live those years with gusto.

What I Learned During What I Hope to Learn During My First 40 Years

1. I wasted a lot of time before I had children.

2. I didn’t realize how thin I really was… before I had children.

3. Complaining doesn’t make anything better… but venting is very therapeutic.

4. Marriage is hard work… even if you married Prince Charming.

5. My first 40 years have been extremely blessed.

What I Hope to Learn During MyFirst40Yearsthe Next 40 Years

1. I did a good job raising my children.

2. Having a clean, organized house is overrated.

3. To make lemonade out of lemons…instead of venting.

4. Staying married to Prince Charming was worth the effort.

5. To live each day knowing that life is beautiful.

Richmond-area writer and teacher Colleen R. Lee lives with her husband and three kids in the Frumpy Zone. Visit her at www.thefrumpyzone.blogspot.com

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