To the birthday boy: Michael, I'm so proud of you: for the man that you are, the accomplishments that you have achieved, & for everything in between. The girls & I appreciate all that you do to care for our family. You are a wonderful father & the best husband a girl could want! We love you, babe! I hope you have a wonderful day. Saw this & thought it was funny :0) Remember 40 is just a number & in my eyes you'll always be "Forever Young".
It’s all going well: you’ve got a reasonably secure job, you have a long-term partner and you’re now the proud father of a couple of under-fives and then it hits you – you’re 40 years old.
How did this happen? Really, how did this happen?
Last thing you remember you were going on single holidays, partying ‘till dawn and had nothing in your fridge other than beer and a half-eaten sandwich.
So, if you haven’t realized it yet (you have), below are ten tell-tale signs that you’re approaching the gigantic man milestone of the big 4 Oh!
1. You can’t remember what you did at the weekend
It used to be that not remembering the weekend was because your mind had imploded in a haze of 48-hr excess and circumstances too ‘out there’ to be recollected. But, not anymore! Nowadays you can vaguely recall something to do with the kids or in-laws or perhaps organising something such as furniture, drawers or the garden. Whatever it was, by Tuesday, it’s just a distant memory that has blended seamlessly with hundreds of other similar lost weekends.
2. You look forward to going to garden centers (yep, totally cracked up, b/c this is you!!)
Mmmmm, the smell of dark creosoted sheds, freshly tilled soil and bedding plants, what bliss! Planning your whole weekend around a trip to the local garden center to purchase a new shrub is pretty much your idea of heaven and once this task has been completed you get to sit back, relax and watch your garden grow as lusciously as your nostril hairs.
3. You ask for socks for your birthday (you asked for slippers, haha!)
It’s not like you have everything that you could wish for but when asked: ‘what would you like for your birthday?’ your mind goes a complete and utter blank until you mumble: ‘socks’. The trouble is: socks are exactly what you want.
4. You get home on a Friday evening at 9pm and consider it a great night out
Your work colleagues are hitting the local pub for drinks on a Friday and after you’ve done some prior arranging with your partner you happily agree to go along at 5pm. Pints are flowing and conversation is warming up and you’re having a great time. You begin to feel slightly drunk and sensibly decide to leave while you can still see and haven’t been sick. It’s only when you arrive home and discover it’s just after nine that you realize that you’re probably not quite as ‘hard-core’ as you used to be.
How did it happen and how does it continue to happen? Batteries, nail clippers, receipts – you name it, they’re all in there. The trouble is that you can clear said drawer out if you have nothing better to do but low and behold, 2 weeks later, you’re back to where you started from – a complete mess of indiscriminate objects that serve no purpose other than ‘they may come in handy’.
6. You get up before 8am on the weekend (this is so you)
Do you remember when the weekend meant a lie in? You could cozy up and snooze or make a little fort, imagine that! These days if it’s not your internal alarm clock that’s been tuned through years of work it’s the kids diving on to the duvet as they play at being Mexican wrestlers.
7. History’s become interesting
From world wars to Greek classics, how on earth did we ever think history was boring at school? Who’d have thought that Stinky Anderson with the tooth missing and the under-arm stains was actually teaching something that was interesting? The old adage: the more you learn the less you know is certainly true of history however, this doesn’t stop us from craving more and more ancient stats and tales of yore.
8. You realize you have no clue about popular music (oldies is your favorite :)
Yes, your favorite radio station is oldies & you think it's great when they play a song from "your day". You don't get this rap stuff & remember when the bands were metal & all the cool guys had big hair.
9. You prefer ale to lager
With names like Bishops Finger, Santa’s Butt and Tactical Nuclear Penguin (32% by the way), it’s no surprise that gentlemen of a certain age prefer a lovingly hand-crafted beer (in theory) as opposed to a chemically manufactured lager. The taste, the time of day and the glass that its served in are all contributing factors however, when it comes to separating the men from the boys then only a tankard of something brown with bits floating in it will do.
10. An adventure holiday doesn’t involve anything of the sort
Do you remember when you’d go on real adventure tours where you’d undertake rock climbing, frozen glaciers and white-water-rafting before breakfast? Well, one of the tell-tale signs that you’re approaching 40 is when you’re contemplating your next holiday and are struggling to think of anywhere more adventurous than the park. Granted, you have the kids to think about, and to be fair you did go to Brazil last year, however if camping in the woods is as adventurous as a week away gets then don’t forget your pipe and slippers.
For my blog readers: a few candids of my handsome husband & the invitation to Michael's 80s prom, enjoy!
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| Yep, not the best photoshop job ever, but this was the front on our invitation, folks really thought it was funny to see us like this...see, even the most serious, have a silly side :) |
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