Today You Are 40

You are a wife.

You are a mom.

You are a daughter.

You are a sister.

You are a friend.

You are a woman of faith.

You are a group fitness instructor.

You are a health and fitness coach.

You are a writer.

You are a blogger.

You are living the dream.

In many ways you are where you hoped, imagined, and prayed you would be at 40.

But, life hasn’t been easy for you.

You have experienced the loss of loved ones more than you expected to by this time in your life.

You have buried a daughter and two close childhood friends, who were like sisters to you, in the past seven years.

You said goodbye to a generation that meant so much to you, over the past twenty, including all four of your grandparents, Bob’s grandmothers, and other dear extended family and friends.

You lost your first job in the working world, after dedicating three years of your life to that organization and the people there.

And you bounced back quickly, landing on your feet, with an awesome faith-based job in youth ministry.

You are an optimist.

You are a believer.

You never give up.

You are resilient.

You are a survivor.

Carpe Diem.

You have come along way from when you entered your thirties ten years ago.

You were the mother of a one-year old son, who had just experienced her first miscarriage.

You wanted a big party to celebrate your milestone birthday, but didn’t trust your husband enough to pull it off the way you wanted it done.

So you made the invitations yourself and micro managed other aspects of the planning, which was frustrating for Bob and for you.

It was a great celebration though! A fun time to be together with family and friends.

And little did you know what being thirtysomething would have in store for you… Such is life.

You’ve always had the best of intentions.

You’ve always tried to learn and grow from your experiences.

You’ve made mistakes, failed plenty, and that’s okay.

You are finally at a place in your life where you really get that.

Life isn’t about being perfect or living up to anyone’s expectations for you, even your own.

You are learning to be mindful and see people, places, and things for who and what they are.

You say, “it is what it is,” a lot.

You continue to try to accept the way your life has played out, celebrating how much you have to be grateful for and making peace with all that didn’t go as you hoped, dreamed, or planned.

As you go forth into this next decade, I wish you much peace, love, patience, and happiness!

I can only imagine where and who you will be ten years from now…

I believe that you will continue to try to be the best version of yourself, as you use everything that God gave you to make a difference in the lives of your family, friends, and others.

Cheers to 40 years! And many, many more…