Yes, that is what it means.
So yesterday was my birthday. My 41st birthday. Which thought used to scare the dickens out of me. I mean, shoot, I remember when my mom was 41. I was already driving – what the heck am I thinking having a baby at this point in my life? I should be researching colleges, not preschools.
But here I am. And while I’ll admit that my 4oth birthday was way more traumatic for the obvious reproductive reasons, 41 was a breeze. Some of it is, yeah, I feel like my life’s where I want it to be for the first time in years and years and years (ok, maybe for the first time in ever). But some of it, too, is that I’m more comfortable in my slightly worn body than I’ve been in years. 41 doesn’t seem that horrible – after all, 40 treated me pretty well. I could stand to get back in top shape, but I feel like it’s likely I’ll do that in the next year or so. My body bounced back remarkably well for the minuscule amount of exercise I got while pregnant, and I’m feeling energized these days, ready for long walks and rambles in the woods with the baby & the dog. Which is a nice way to feel. Takes the edge off turning 41, I must say.
And raising a little boy? A rambunctious (for so I must assume he will be with the Boy as his father) little boy? Still sounds like fun. Exhausting, maybe, but I certainly have more emotional reserves for dealing with exhaustion than I did at 20 or 25. A lost night’s sleep is no big deal at this point in my life, whereas it would have had me in tears in my 20s. Devoting a day to distracting the snotty-nosed baby (yes, Henry is dealing with his first cold) instead of pursuing my own day-to-day interests is sort of fun. (Hell, who am I kidding, distracting the baby IS my interest, these days.) But I would not have been so calm about it even 10 years ago.
And some of it is likely that I’m in New York where I’m sure the ratio of ‘elderly’ (read: 35+-years-old) mothers is higher than anywhere else in the country, but I don’t feel particularly old, don’t feel like I’m dooming my kid to a life with a boring, staid mom just because I’ll be in my fifties when he’s a teenager.
And it’s good to know that I don’t fear that anymore, because it’s something that I worried about. But honestly, this birthday was pretty non-traumatic, non-worrying. And Henry assures me that he doesn’t care one jot for the crows’ feet starting at the corners of my eyes. He swears he thinks I’ve never looked lovelier. He assures me I’m the most beautiful woman in the world.
And yes, that IS what ‘oooooooh. ahhh-ahhh-ahhh-ahhhhhh’ means.
Happy Belated Birthday! My mom was 41 when she had me, and I have to say, the only downside is that b/c of my husband’s reluctance to start a family, and then all the mishegas we encountered getting here, it’s a little sad to have my mom be 82, and me just having my first children. Furthermore, my mom was the ONLY older mom in my whole town, and frequently mistaken for my grandmother–that never happens these days!
Happy birthday Susan!! I think birthdays do get easier as we get older – because we are wiser! And what you say about having the emotional readiness to parent now compared with 10+ years ago, so true! I feel like I will be such a better parent now, because I’m ready to do it.
Enjoy your whole birthday week!!
Well happy birthday!
Belated Happy Birthday!! I am so glad that you are back to your normal self again.
Hope Henry’s cold gets better. That does not sound like fun!
Happy Birthday! I hope the boogers clear up fast.
Not sure if I have posted yet or not….but been following you for several months now. Happy Birthday!!! I’m a fellow 40+ mom! Had my first son at 40 and turned 41 6 weeks later. Now I am having my 2nd at 43! Ahrg! We got lucky on our son (5 fertility rounds…3 medicated IUI’s and 2 IVF’s)…but for this baby we went strait to embryo adoption. So…I know how you feel about being older and a 1st time mom. We feel like the timing is just right and actually find ourselves being more active and more involved than some of our younger counterparts just because we have the flexibility and means to do so. It helps to have already been at your job for 10+ years and be pretty independent. So there are perks to both ends of the spectrum. I laugh when I think about my own mom though…because when she was 44 (just about 7 months away for me)….I was getting MARRIED!!!!! That really puts things in perspective…but times are different now and more and more I find that people are closer to mid 30′s+ to start families….at least in my social circles. I’m in Northern CA on the opposite side of the country from you but I think the trends are the same out here as there, especially in the professional world where I am. Enjoy your Henry (love the name too…my godson is Henry and he is a sweet, sweet boy). I hope his little cold clears up soon.
Karaleen
Happy Birthday! I agree entirely about birthdays getting easier now that I have a baby in tow.
Happy, happy birthday!
)
And don’t worry, Henry will show you exactly HOW to have fun at a dinner party. And you will love every minute of it. I just know you will.
Happy Birthday! Like you, this last birthday didn’t really sting like ones before- I think its because W is here.
Hapy Birthday! I’ve been reading your blog for a long time and love it! You write so well and it’s a treat to follow your daily thoughts and happenings.
You do seem so content and satisfied, and I am so, so happy for you. What an amazing gift to be at a place in your life where you feel so YOU.
Happy Birthday!! And Henry, in one way or another, will continue to assure you you’re the most beautiful mom in the world. Enjoy it in all its manifestations. Though I don’t even need to say that to you. You will enjoy it. I’m so happy for you, and glad that life is so good.
Oh Happy Birthday! Sorry to have missed it. London full of us older mums too and its hard to tell the difference between us and the thirty something mums.
Soooooo behind in my blog reading. Happy, happy birthday! Isn’t waking up to your sweet boy the best birthday present ever? I’m also glad to be an older mom in NYC. I’m still older than most of the new moms I meet, but I was assured I was not the oldest patient in my OB’s practice when I delivered at the ripe old age of 46!