First of all, there was a time when if you had told me one day I would be a “middle age woman” I wouldn’t have believed you. I thought I would die or something first. Now with my rebellious days mostly behind me, it seems I am here for the long haul. So I give you this…
Not that long ago, I posted this meme about being in my terrible 40’s on Instagram. I had seen it on a friend’s Instagram feed and thought it was funny. This morning I looked at it again and laughed.
This time I was laughing because it’s actually true. In a way, I am more cranky in my 40’s. At least at work I find myself apologizing for crankiness quite often.
But when I think about it, it’s not so much that I am cranky as it is that I am no longer willing to put up with anyone’s shit. I am also very verbal about that now. This is probably what leads to the “crankiness”. I’m like a 2 year old with a newfound sense of self who has just learned the word “no.”
In our 20’s we have too much to prove to others but even more so to ourselves. We want to be liked or accepted and therefore keep our thoughts inside (ok maybe not so much me but I did try…) In our 30’s we have learned a thing or two. We feel more confident though we still have some learning to do. We are still young though and still have that need to fit in and to please.
By our 40’s most of us have a decent grip on who we are and how the world works. We’ve finally proven to ourselves whatever we needed to and we no longer care what others think. For me, if I don’t agree with someone in a meeting I speak right up now. If someone cuts me off in line, I let them know I was there first. When in a discussion on any topic, you can bet you will get my full opinion and I will feel much less bad about that than I did when I was younger. In fact, this most recent newfound sense of self has left me a little drunk with power.
If I was mouthy a teen or young adult before, I’m a really mouthy middle age woman now! I’m sure I’ll tone down in my 50’s but i’m also pretty sure one day I’ll be a very feisty 80 year old. For now I will say, if you get on the wrong side of my opinion, #sorrynotsorry…and get off my lawn!! 😉
