This is 40

Sunday birthdays are fun because you have to do stuff on Saturday too. We took the kids out to Strap Tank restaurant that I really like but only Sarah had been. We tried to talk James into going there for his birthday last year but he chose Popeye's at the last minute and then didn't like it. Well now he knows what he missed. I ordered ribs because they are my favorite.

For breakfast that morning we had omelets (Henry declared mine a momelet) smoothies and chocolate  milk. Justin pared down his meeting schedule so he could be home to make breakfast. The kids gave me lots of my favorite treats and Justin gave me this new lamp. (I love stained glass.) Then I finished up the last cake (I started baking and freezing cakes on Tuesday).

I don't usually make much of a to-do for my birthdays. Justin, my kids and his parents and mine round out the numbers for any dinner or birthday cake. This mostly stems from not really wanting much attention on my birthday and really really not liking to plan my own day. I love planning my kids birthdays and Justin's too but I kind of want to just skip over my own. Is this an adulting thing? 

But this year was my 40th birthday so I decided to open the circle of celebration a bit more. It all started with the idea of making four birthday cakes, one for each decade of my life. Then that evolved to recreating birthday cakes from my past. I scoured my photos to find cakes representational of ages and favorite cakes. I came against two obstacles: 1- There aren't many birthday cake photos. Third, 8th, 12th, 13th, 20th. Not a lot of material to work with. I think there are home videos on VHS tapes somewhere but no photos. 2- I chose German chocolate cake half the time. 

But these are the 4 I came up with. They are representational of my favorites and a pretty good spread of my ages.

With four cakes I needed a lot of people to help me eat them. We had family over for dinner Sunday evening and then ate cake.

I also had to recreate the photo from my third birthday.

That's the same suitcase!

This is my grand-nephew. (Is that right? I'm his great-aunt but is he a great-nephew or grand-nephew?) He is the cutest and sweetest thing ever. That my nephew and his wife made the 2-hour trip to my house just made my day.

We made a pretty good dent in all the cakes but I made everyone take a plateful home. I have cake in my freezer to drag out the fun for a little longer.

Here are a few things I've been mulling over as I approached this momentous occasion.

-It is an honor to get older. A good friend from childhood died a few years ago from cancer. All she wanted was to live a few more years so her youngest child would have memories of her. She would have liked to turn 40.

-When I turned 30 I wondered what your thirties are all about. I made all the big life changing decisions and completed my life goals in my twenties. What are the thirties about? I know now. My kids' teeth. Losing teeth, finding teeth, watching teeth grow in, brushing teeth, cavities, orthodontist appointments, paying for teeth. And it may be what my forties are about too. 

-I asked Justin last night if I was now old enough to go on a Viking River Cruise.

-I don't care how cute the shoes are if they hurt my feet.

-Forty isn't that old. Henry tries telling me I'm old and getting older. "We're aging at the same rate," I tell him. We are all marching toward elderliness to the same beat.

-I don't know what generation I'm in. I relate to Gen-X movies and music and all that since I grew up with Gen-x siblings. Technically I'm a millennial but I look at kiddies born in 1994 and don't relate to them at all. I can't name a single Rihanna song and I have no idea what Instagram is about.

-Speaking of things that make me an outlier, I don't like Taylor Swift. There I said it. I get really tired of her after like two songs. I cannot relate to her lyrics at all. I find them petty and fickle. After I listen to one of her songs I feel like she still has no idea what love is. 

-When James was born in 2016 I remember saying when I'm forty he'll be in first grade and I won't have kids at home during the day. Welp, here we are.

-I still feel in the middle of junior and women's styles.

-I kind of feel like I'm finally getting to the age of my personality. 

-If I have one regret of the last 40 years it would be not taking time off from college to travel. Why was I in such a rush to graduate? 

-I have a hard time living in the present. I'm either looking forward to the future, the next event, the next holiday. Always planning or preparing. Or I'm reading, studying, watching things about the past. And shopping for old stuff. Always looking forward and back. It's today I have no idea what to do with.

Here's my birthday interview. (Can you interview yourself?)

Favorites
Color: navy blue and dark green. Pretty much all the blues and greens.

Movie: Return to Me, Into and Across the Spiderverse, Count of Monte Cristo, Bourne Identity

TV Show: The Simpsons (seasons 3-8) Parks and Rec, The Office, most of Masterpiece, all the historical miniseries. We've been watching ER up to where Dr Green dies and I'm not sure I'm going to like it much longer.

Sport/Activity: riding my bike around town

Band/Artist: Roxette, Snow Patrol, Duran Duran, Erasure, Matchbox Twenty, Young the Giant. It changes all the time. I also really like opera but just the big famous songs.

Season: Fall

Foods: Ribs, burgers, sandwiches, fruit (especially mangos, grapes, raspberries), cinnamon rolls, oatmeal, all the desserts

Thing to do: Go for a walk, volunteering at the school, taking care of growing things

Youtube channel: Great Art Explained His videos on the Mona Lisa and Michelangelo's David are my favorite but I found out how much I like Caravaggio from his video. His videos are so good I find myself even appreciating the ugly.

To do with Justin: Fix stuff. He hates it but I love working along side him making our home better.

To do with my kids: Cook or bake, watch Bluey, play boardgames, ride bikes to school, take them to good restaurants so they like fastfood less and less.

Inspirational Quote:  "Give 'em hell." I wish there was a G rated version of that I could say to my kids as they walked out the door. "Do your best" or "You got this" lacks gravitas. "Give 'em hell" encapsulates doing what needs to be done and never giving up or giving in and that you have the ability to change the world. Find me three other words that can say that. 

What most of my Youtube feed is about: architecture, British history, Jordan Peterson, nutrition, recipes, hair and skin care, how to not dress frumpy.

What I want to accomplish this year: I honestly have no idea. I did not plan this far.

Something I really don't like: When there's something noisy going on in my neighborhood like a jackhammer or other machinery. Puts me on edge. I don't like noise. And solicitors coming to my door.

What superpower would I want? Teleportation. I could go anywhere at anytime for no cost and no time. You can't convince me any other power would be more cool.

Most skilled at: bargain shopping, finding good books my kids like, making frosting and cookies

Wish I was more skilled at: talking to people in social settings, serving others in meaningful ways, handling the heat in the summer, not dressing frumpy when it's cold out

What has surprised me most about life: Not much. My life looks exactly like I planned. But I do have to say I feel a little unprepared at each new stage of motherhood. I'm really good at toddlers and preschoolers now that I don't have any.