A Letter to Myself on My 40th Birthday

Dear Martin,

Where did the time go? It seems like just yesterday you were skydiving to celebrate your 30th birthday. Now it’s 10 years later and you’re 40 years old.

Wait a second. You’re 40? How are you 40? You don’t look 40. You don’t act 40. You’re still single. You have no kids. You still tell and laugh at the same juvenile jokes. You still eat Lucky Charms for breakfast (sometimes, anyway). And hell, you still watch the Real World/Road Rules Challenge every week on MTV. (Ahem, you have a season pass set on the DVR.) The fact that you’re 40 just doesn’t seem right.

Are you sure that’s how old you are? And if it’s true, then why doesn’t it seem to faze you?

I know a lot of people freak out when they turn 40, and you kind of started to do that two years ago when you turned 38, so I applaud you for not being in crisis mode today and instead, celebrating your birthday this year like it’s just any other birthday.

If I had to make a guess, I’d say that’s not denial. There’s a lot to celebrate this year, and who wants to ruin that by being a neurotic mess?

After all, you now have a job you enjoy, and things professionally are back on track. You have an active, busy social life. Your personal life is percolating. What a difference a year makes, eh? It’s good to see you happy again. No wonder you’re content to just be celebrating your birthday.

Sure, people will tell you you’re 40 and it’s time to grow up. For example, some folks think it’s time for you to stop watching certain TV shows and movies, or listening to some of the music you enjoy. Stop making such lame, punny jokes and quoting song lyrics at random. Stop eating so many cupcakes. Be a little more serious. I’d say there’s no need to do any of that. Don’t give up the parts of you that keep you young and make you who you are.

You’re very lucky, Martin. You have an unending amount of positive energy and optimism at your core. You have so many people in your life who love you. Life hasn’t always been good to you, but it’s made you stronger and a better person than you realize.

And here’s one more thing to be happy about: Many people say life begins at 40. There’s so much to look forward to. So much still left to learn and do. So much life still to come. We know plenty of people who didn’t come into their own, didn’t meet their future spouse, didn’t develop essential professional and/or personal skills until after they turned 40. I’m confident that you’ll be one of those people too. And if you’re actually worried about any of that, just know there’s nothing wrong with being a late bloomer.

So I’m with you: Concern yourself with what it means to be 40 some other time. For now, go on and enjoy this birthday. And tomorrow, take the first step toward making the next decade your best one yet. Something tells me that’s exactly what you’re going to do.

Happy 40th!

Your pal,

Martin

ps: One last thing … You can stop talking about your birthday now. People are tired of reading all these blog posts and seeing you tweet about it. Just sayin’.

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