What I know to be true | 40 somethings

Well, this week marks my 40th birthday. It’s weird to say, yet it seems mundane at the same time. Maybe it’s because once January hits in any year, I start talking and thinking like I’m already the age I will turn in April.

40 is a milestone year, so I feel like I’m supposed to celebrate in a milestone way. Yet, something in my spirit is just looking forward to some low-key celebrations and festivities. Earlier this year I started writing down a list of 40 new things I’ve experienced in my 40th year.

I’ll continue to share my 40 Somethings series as 2022 unfolds.

40 years ago, the year was 1982.

• Ronald Reagan was President.
• The first computer-generated emojis were introduced for email – 🙂
• Michael Jackson’s Thriller was introduced.
• Graceland was opened to the public.
• The first episode of The David Letterman Show aired.
• Disney’s Epcot theme park opened.
• The feature film “ET: The extra-terrestrial” debuted.
• The average cost of a new home was $82,000.
• A stamp was 20 cents.
• a loaf of sliced white bread was 50 cents.
• The cost f a gallon of gas was 91 cents.
• the largest cash robbery in history occurred when $9.8 million was stolen from a NY armored car.
• Also born this year: Leann Rimes, Kelly Clarkson, Andy Roddick, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, and Prince William
• I can officially say, “I’m as old as the Weather Channel.”

Now if those things don’t put a perspective on what has transpired in 4 decades, maybe the list that follows will. What would you add to your list? What have your learned to be true in your lifetime?

What I know to be true, 40 things I’ve learned in 40 years

1. Good friends are hard to find but always worth keeping
2. Looking at a skinny picture of yourself shouldn’t make you jealous – that girl was probably in a terrible state of mental health.
3. Make yourself a priority – it is no one else job.
4. Your husband can’t read your mind.
5. Your mom is usually right – even when you are 40 and she is in her 60s.
6. You are never going to fit back in those pants – get rid of them because when you do you will want to buy new pants.
7. Popsicles and chocolate will always make a mess on a hot day, eat them fast. 
8. It’s hard to not be smitten with a four-year-old in glasses. 
9. It’s hard to be mad when you eat sprinkles. 
10. Smell is a powerful sense. It can take you back to a certain moment in a second. 
11. A good cup of coffee can fix many problems. 
12. A few moments of deep breaths and reading can reset a bad morning. 
13. Your family will get in their biggest fights on a Sunday morning. 
14. Leaving a little room for spontaneity will make life happier. 
15. No matter how much money you have or the decorum you possess, everyone poops. (George Washington had 3 seats in his outhouse) 
16. Kindness matters. 
17. Love always wins. 
18. All anyone will ever remember about you is how you made them feel. 
19. Cheap shoes won’t last long. 
20. Cheetah shoes will make you feel sassy. 
21. You probably shouldn’t say everything you are thinking. 
22. You can’t do everything. 
23. Reading makes you smarter. 
24. Traveling the world makes you braver. 
25. You can do hard things. 
26. You can learn from others’ mistakes. 
27. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. 
28. Letting others in is freeing. 
29. Extroverts need alone time too. 
30. Introverts are not rude, they are recharging.
31. Holding on to things won’t bring back dead people. 
32. You don’t have to put everything on social media. 
33. You don’t have to be the smartest person in the room. 
34. God knew what he was doing when he gave us two ears and one mouth. Listen more! 
35. Tomorrow is not promised. 
36. You do not know all the burdens people around you are dealing with. 
37. Lead with grace and assume the best in others. 
38. Be present with the people in your presence. 
39. Always be willing to learn (even from your own mistakes). 
40. You have a God-sized hole in your heart. He is the only one who can heal what’s broken in you. 

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