"You're only young once, they say, but doesn't it go for a long time? More years than you can bear." - Hilary Mantel, An Experiment in Love
I turned 40 months ago,
days leading to it, I search online for things to do to mark my 40th
birthday. A party is out of the question. I mean, a party involves a
lot of people. Other interesting stuff were mentioned, like jumping out of a
plane for one or go somewhere secluded and spend the day by yourself. Things
I’m not too keen on doing at that time. My birthday falls on a Monday and it was just like
any ordinary day. My sister bought balloons with the words “Happy 40th
Birthday!”. I repeatedly told her, it was just a waste of money, much to her annoyance. Then we had breakfast at a
local cafe near our place and went for a short walk around the lake. The walk was
my favorite part of the day. I thought about having a drink at the end of the
day, then remembered that I have to go to work later that night. So much for my 40th.
I remembered
someone told me, that she went all out when she turned 40. Frankly, I didn’t
know what she meant. Age is just a number, I know, but somehow it implies
a lot of things. Someone asked me how I feel now that I’m 40. I replied that I
don’t feel anything. Not entirely true, I suppose. On some days I can feel my back, when I get out of bed. Other times, my knees make this sound, when I hurry down the stairs. For me, nothing has changed, except for the fact that I’m
40 and the weight on my shoulders has gotten heavier.
I’ve heard the line that says, life begins at 40 or
something like that. If that’s the case, what was the last 39 years of my life
amount to? I have no idea. I thought about writing this post
because I find that now I’m older, I tend to do a
lot of thinking about things in general. I’ve been told that I think too much, to
a fault. I mean, I even complicate a simple matter by thinking too much about
it. My sister point this out to me all the time. So, if you don’t mind, allow me to share my thoughts on random things, from
a 40-year old’s point of view. So, here goes my spiel.
On Family: It’s funny
and weird, how when I was younger, I wish that I belong in a different family.
I wish that I had the perfect parents and siblings. As I get older, I realized
that part of who I am today is attributed to my family. No
amount of success will mean anything to me if I can’t share it with them.
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| My sister will be my go-to companion, until, she go on one of her "hush. hush" getaways. |
On Work: Someone
at work made a comment that I’m an eager-beaver because I arrive half an hour
early before the start of my shift. She made it sound like it’s such a bad
thing that I am early. I dismissed her comment with a shrug. My
sister even told me that no one will give me a medal for being punctual at
work. I guess the norm for most people is to arrive at work with 5 minutes to
spare, half-awake (during mornings) and drag their feet, because they’d rather
be somewhere else. I don’t profess to be crazy about my job but I do it in a
way that is expected of me. I believe in going the extra mile even if nobody
cares if I do.
"Sometimes the highest test of humanity is what we hold ourselves back from doing when every fiber in our body wants to do something else."- Mitch Albom
On driving: I’ve
been driving for the past two years and I can’t say, I like it very much. I do
it out of necessity when I must go to work but other than that, I’d rather stay
put. It didn’t help when I got pulled over once, for running through a yellow
light. Sure, there’s the thing about being independent and all. And that’s it.
I still want to be on the passenger seat, once in awhile and be alone with my thoughts.
On death: My
first experience with death was when my grandmother passed away, and I was old enough to understand what happened. I have had a few people I care about, passed away. And I know that death is inevitable, still, it saddened me to think that I won't see them again. That all I have are memories.
On children: I
don’t have children of my own but I’m cool with hanging out with them, from
time to time. I like children but I don't think I'm responsible enough to have them.
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| "Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love." - Rumi |
I like to think that I learned a thing or two since I came
to this world. I used to wonder why my mother didn't impose rules on me while growing up. When I confronted her about this, she replied, "I know you'd always do the right thing.",with an expression, that said, how can you ask me that.
I find that dreams do come true. It did not happen overnight for me but when it did, the feeling was surreal and left me speechless, except to say, "This is awesome." I can't take all the credit for the past 40 years. It is evident that I have some help and someone is looking out for me. And for that I am always thankful.
Being a grown up and a responsible adult is hard work. A lot of times I have to make compromises just to fit in. I used to tell myself that I don't really care what people say or think about me. But the thing is, I do. And doing the right thing, sometimes, go against, what I believe is right. But hey, I'm still here, so I guess, I'm figuring things as I go along.
So anyway, I'll end this post with my hopes for the years to come, God willing, I'm still around....
- Good health for my family and friends.
- The means and willingness to provide for my family.
- To be always grateful, no matter what.
- To 'don't sweat the small stuff".
- To run again. Hopefully.
