Friday's my birthday; i'm glum
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Anonymous
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So, Friday is my birthday -- I'm turning 49. Normally, I take my birthday off and do something I want to do, but that isn't a possibility this year so I will be at work. I'm young looking and young at heart, but I'm one of the oldest ones in my office and I take some good-natured ribbing about it. That's OK, but every year around this year, I get sort of melancholy and wistful and it may be worse this year because I'm on the cusp of 50.
I have a wonderful life, great family, loving husband and awesome kid. I am a very lucky woman. As soon as the day passes, I am fine. I like to look back at what I've done, and sometimes I think I'm not nearly where I thought I'd be, especially professionally. I know this is a silly post, but does anyone have a way to sorta snap myself out of this funk or make me feel better about the years passing without feeling bummed about all I haven't accomplished? |
Anonymous
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Here are my suggestions:
Gratitude journal Meditate Recognize how lucky you are to have a great life at least once a day Look for a new job Volunteer more Exercise and eat well Learn a new instrument And...though I hesitate to say it, Happy Birthday! |
Anonymous
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Don't hesitate to say it: thank you, PP!
Thank you for the tips. They are all good ideas. I have long thought about taking a class, and the time never seems to come. |
Anonymous
| How long has this been going on? Have you always had these feelings before/on your birthday or did something happen one year that changed your feelings from happy anticipation to sadness? |
Anonymous
| Getting older is better than the alternative. |
Anonymous
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This usually happens before my birthday. Like I said, the feelings last a week or so before. By the time the actual day arrives, it's gone.
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Anonymous
| Can you go out to a nice lunch with DH or a friend? Can you rock out in the morning to your favorite songs from whenever your favorite decade is? Wear your favorite outfit. And happy birthday! |
Anonymous
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This happened to me the closer I got to 50. I'm now 52 and have come to terms with being over 50, although it is hard to swallow. I also get told I look young, and feel young, so I just go with the flow and don't think about it.
As a previous poster pointed out, the alternative is much worse, so enjoy your life. Here's to another 50!!! |
Anonymous
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To regurgitate a corny saying:
The past is history, the future is a mystery, today is a gift -- that's why they call it the "present." Sappy and somewhat annoying, but the message is, at heart, correct: What's already happened is done. Who knows what is ahead. So live in the moment, especially if, as you say, you have a good life now. Happy Birthday. Don't get ahead of yourself. |
Anonymous
| Buy a new outfit to wear on your birthday! Get a new hairstyle or other pampering treatment. Plan something for Friday night that you can look forward to (could be your pampering treatment!). And can you at least leave work an hour or two early? |
Anonymous
OP, I hope you grow to be one of those elderly women who ride around town on a Vespa with a poodle in a purple purse. Thing Maude from "Harold and Maude." Be that chick. Love you. |
Anonymous
OP, there's someone I know who is 47 and who has just been told he has 6 months to live. Cancer. If that doesn't 'sorta snap' you out of your funk, then I don't know what would.. Happy birthday! |
Anonymous
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You guys rock! Seriously ... to have so much positive light thrown my way from people who don't even know me ... it's beautiful. Thank you.
I just called home and my DD, who is 5, said: "Don't come home yet, Mommy. We aren't finished making your birthday surprise. I can't tell you what it is. But don't come home, because you don't want to see the card and ruin the surprise." Oh, I laughed and laughed. Life is good. |
Anonymous
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Well OP? how does it feel to be 49 now?
How was your birthday?! |
Anonymous
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For me, the 9s are worse than the big number. Turning 29, we were going through infertility and my career was nonexistent - and I kept thinking about how I wasn't going to be where I thought I'd be by 30. Turning 30, all the same issues were still there, but somehow it was easier, like I faced reality or something.
Turning 39, same thing! (seriously- infertility and no career). 39 was again worse than 40, because of that looming big number. I think it's pressure of "okay, if I want those things, I've got one year to make it happen". When the actual big number appears, the deadline is past, and I think the pressure drops off. Even if you didn't achieve the goal. I have yet to do 49/50, but I'm going to try to have no preconceived notions or goals this time. 
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