So you know I recently turned 41. THANK YOU for all your birthday wishes. I really look at my birthday as a national holiday. I take the day off. I do whatever I want. I eat dessert during breakfast and dinner. You catch the drift. I LOVE MY BIRTHDAY. So the fact you guys thought of me on January 11th means a lot! So I thought I would give you my take on getting older.

I begin with the 20′s.

Take a look at those cheeks! Yep, I’m sitting in the same newsroom I currently work in. Winning! Are we all still using that exclamation? Back to the 20′s. They were hard. They were really hard. Why? Because in your 20′s you work hard at everything. You work hard at getting out of college. Then you get your first real job and you have to work hard to prove yourself. But at the same time, you’re also working hard on your personal life and trying to find the right mate. Don’t get me wrong. The 20′s were a load of fun, but they were hard because you’re trying to figure out who you are during that transition from being a college kid to a career woman. Do you think I was eating in that picture? Or maybe that’s another reason the 20′s were so hard.  You’re trying to lose the baby fat!

The 3o’s.

Ok, the 30′s SUCKED!  I am not going to water this decade down.  That’s because you are now married and having kids.  Only problem is neither one comes with a manual to help you out.  Plus, you’re still not exactly where you want to be in your career.  So not only are you learning to be a wife, figuring out how to be a parent, you’re still trying to prove yourself at work.  So while there were a lot of bright moments in the 30′s, the decade as a whole SUCKED!  At least the chipmunk cheeks are gone.  Oh ya, that’s because in the 30′s your babies are sucking every ounce of nutrition out of you while you’re  pregnant and then breastfeeding.   Plus, you’re sleeping much Much MUCH less than the recommended 8 hours a night.  But hey!  Women actually look better in their 30′s than in their 20′s… just my opinion. 

And now the 40′s.

This is my decade!  This is where we’re smarter, better, happier, more confident.  The kids are now a little more on auto pilot…  At least they can wipe their own ass.  You’ve figured out the marriage… Well, half  have and the other half divorced and hopefully will figure it out on spouse number 2.  And work is what it is… Either you hate it and will until the day you retire or you’re lucky like me and you love your job and the job loves you right back.  Of course staying in the same newsroom since your 20′s probably helps with that.  In fact,  I chose this final picture for two reasons.  1) See that desk behind me?  On the right side of the picture?  That’s where my 20 year picture was taken.  Boy I’ve come far!  And see the feather I’m holding?  That’s from a PIGEON that flew out from that closet right behind me and flew over my head, right at Kristen, down the hallway, and out the newsroom door. This happened about a month ago.  I meant to write a blog post about it, but what the hell do you say about a pigeon coming out of nowhere, dropping a feather on your desk, and flying away?  I guess new things can happen in a room you’ve worked at for almost 20 years.   And that’s the joy of getting older.