My 40th Birthday: The Anti Midlife Crisis

by Jyl Johnson Pattee on March 20th, 2010 | 13 Comments »

How old are you? Nearing 40? Far from it? Beyond it?

Well, this year marks the beginning of my 4th decade (on March 24 to be exact), which actually has had me pretty excited. I normally get giddy about my birthday, starting on or around January 1 each year. But, this year, I was ecstatic. Why? Because 40 is a reason to have a big party. And what's a party without family and friends? And what's better than spending an entire evening with your favorite people in the world, right? Find out how rare is my birthday! So bring it on!

Then I started realizing that I'd actually be 40 and while my ecstatic outlook toward my birthday didn't change, I did start pondering my life: what I've accomplished; what I'm involved in now; who has helped shape it; who currently surrounds me, making it the amazing life that it is. Feeling like I should be depressed or having a mid-life crisis, I started searching for gray hair and even analyzed my new wrinkles.

All I came up with was this overwhelming feeling of gratitude for the amazing life I have and all the amazing people that are in it. How in the world did I get so fortunate?

So this post is dedicated to you! All the fabulous people I've met because you're in my bloodline, because I've come into contact with you in real life, or because I've met you through this whirlwind world of social media in which I now live—you, who have helped make me "me" and have enriched my life. Here's to another amazing decade!!!

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Jyl Johnson Pattee

An active part of the Mom It Forward team, Jyl primarily writes about parenting, social good, and all things travel related. In a past life, Jyl was an award-winning copywriter and designer of corporate training programs for Fortune 100 companies. Offline, Jyl is married to @TroyPattee; a mom to two teen boys and a beagle named #Hashtag; loves large amounts of cheese, dancing, and traveling; and lives in the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Topping her bucket list is the goal to visit 50 countries by the time she's 50.