I just turned 42. Super exciting, I know. It’s not one of the fun ones, like, I just turned 21! or I just turned 30! or even I just turned 40! 42. Meh.
And, honestly, for the first time I’m actually starting to feel age. Not necessarily feeling “my age” or feeling “like I’m aging,” just age. Everyone told me 40 is when the wheels start to fall off – stiffness getting out of bed, random aches and pains, making noises when you sit down or get up just because. Ha! You know the ones.
But lucky me, I escaped one extra year and didn’t feel any afflictions until 41. This past year was a doozy overall to be sure, and maybe it just took more of a toll on me than I realized as we were living right through it. I started seeing a chiropractor last summer for a sore neck and hip, and every adjustment makes everything feel so much better. I’ve never really gone because my back hurts, though, which has always seemed funny to me. However, since then, my right shoulder has been sore, my knees have started aching, I have arthritis in my finger, and my elbows have been inflamed. I’m sorry, what? Swollen elbows?? What the fuck. These all come and go, thankfully not all sticking around permanently or at the same time, but still.
Thinking on it, though, this body of mine has put in a lot of work. Maybe it’s no wonder I’m starting to feel it. I swam 4 years collegiately, which alone could have done me in. I’ve run hundreds of miles since then, raced numerous 5Ks, competed in a handful of triathlons, run a half marathon, carried and borne 5 babies, and am raising those babies every day. And thankfully, I can still do all of it. Well, no more carrying and bearing babies, that’s for damn sure, but the rest of it. Exercise is necessary for me – sound mind and body – and I’m grateful it’s part of my everyday life. In fact, I ran my quickest 5K in recent days on my birthday. Probably because I wasn’t pushing the twins in the stroller!
Speaking of those babies, I’ve become obsessed with the show Call the Midwife. It’s about midwives in 1950s’ East End London, and I can’t get enough. Of course I put our children into every grim situation shown in the episodes, and it makes me so eternally grateful that our 5 are healthy and thriving. There’s plenty of food on the table (that thankfully Ryan cooks!), our rooms are clean and warm, everyone has clothes and shoes, and I’m able to stay home with the kids. Our house is small, yes, but it’s perfectly comfortable and overflowing with love. Plus we own the one next door, too, if we get really sick of each other. And here’s the thing about humongous houses – there’s lots of room to spread out, but there are also lots of bathrooms to clean. With twins who are potty training, 1 bathroom of pee to clean is more than enough for me!
Although 42 is a rather uneventful age, I had an incredibly fun birthday weekend. Ryan was a total bonehead earlier that week so I was fully prepared for an annoying, disappointing day, but he made a miraculous turnaround. I did pretty much whatever I wanted on my birthday – slept in, woke up to amazing decorations and gifts and a delicious egg and cheese sandwich from the kids, walked over to our neighborhood donut shop for treats and coffee with the kids, they all played outside while I went for a run, they got their own picnic lunch together in the back yard, Ryan made a fantastic dinner of beef tenderloin/scallops/chopped salad, and our 2 great friends came over to eat and celebrate that night. Plus Ryan did all the dishes for me! The next day was Mother’s Day, on which I got more adorable homemade gifts from the kids, then we went up to see Ryan’s family for the first time in over a year and take family pictures. It turned out to be much more fun than I expected, and the pictures are beautiful.
So there I am. 42. It may be a boring number, but life certainly isn’t boring these days and I cherish each of them fully. I’ll be over here just drinking my turmeric and ginger tea and taking my multi-collagen while wearing my heated neck massager, you know, to combat all my newfound aches and inflammation. 😉
