Is 40 old or not?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a new poster to this thread, although I have read it through. I don't see why people don't believe that there are people out there who look younger than their age. I'm 42 and while I would never pass for a thirty-year-old, I do pass for a thirty-five-year-old. Lifelong use of sunscreen means I have almost no wrinkles (and the one I have is a faint thin line only noticeable in some light), and I don't color my hair because I have yet to have any gray hairs. I am within 2-3 pounds of my pre-pregnancy weight. Also, I am not basing this assessment on friends' comments, but on other comments--for example, the mother from the playground (whom I didn't know) commiserating with me on turning 35 and asking how I was going to feel about it when it happened (this when it had happened five years prior!), or the mother in DD's preschool class who made some comment dating herself, and then said "but you probably don't remember that since you are so much younger" when in fact she is only a year older than me. There are tons of other remarks like that that I could cite to "prove" that I look a number of years younger than my true age, but I don't feel the need to further be on the defensive. Instead of (possibly enviously?) dismissing out of hand the possibility that some people do indeed pass for younger, why not accept what posters state at face value (no pun intended )? Some people just look young.

I agree with you. I have the same stuff happen to me all the time. I have some mom friends from my son's preschool (going on 3 years now) and my husband (who is 1.5 years younger than me) was teasing me about the looming 4-0 and 2 of them spit out their wine and literally one nearly fell out of her chair. They are 32-34 and thought I was too. For having dark hair-- I just got my first couple of gray stragglers this year...but grandfather still had 70% dark hair at 85 (while my older sister prematurely went grey at 25---but looks very young). There is a huge variance in the way ppl look. I am also a lifelong athlete and years of weightlifting and cardio (just like dancers) have staved off any aches/pains and kept my tone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Women over 40 are seriously doing well in Hollywood---Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts, Cate Blanchett, Halle Barry, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Aniston, Nicole Kidman, J-LO (and following on their heels CameronDiaz, etc)DrewBarrymore)....and

I love, love, LOVE 40-year old Gwen Stefani!!! She is cooler than any 20-year old by far!!!
Let's hear it for the old ladies!

Did you see those vacation photos of her in St. Barts in the red bikini? She looks awesome. Way cooler than any 20 year old. She's my inspiration in terms of what your body can look like at 40.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Women over 40 are seriously doing well in Hollywood---Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts, Cate Blanchett, Halle Barry, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Aniston, Nicole Kidman, J-LO (and following on their heels CameronDiaz, etc)DrewBarrymore)....and

I love, love, LOVE 40-year old Gwen Stefani!!! She is cooler than any 20-year old by far!!!

Let's hear it for the old ladies!

Gwen vs Miley....Gwen waaaay cooler (and looks better too).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Women over 40 are seriously doing well in Hollywood---Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts, Cate Blanchett, Halle Barry, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Aniston, Nicole Kidman, J-LO (and following on their heels CameronDiaz, etc)DrewBarrymore)....and

I love, love, LOVE 40-year old Gwen Stefani!!! She is cooler than any 20-year old by far!!!
Let's hear it for the old ladies!

Did you see those vacation photos of her in St. Barts in the red bikini? She looks awesome. Way cooler than any 20 year old. She's my inspiration in terms of what your body can look like at 40.

no--I'll have to look them up! She doesn't look like she had any work done either if you look at her photos thru the years. Her boys are my boys ages..so she's my benchmark--but I'll never be that cool-ha!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Women over 40 are seriously doing well in Hollywood---Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts, Cate Blanchett, Halle Barry, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Aniston, Nicole Kidman, J-LO (and following on their heels CameronDiaz, etc)DrewBarrymore)....and

I love, love, LOVE 40-year old Gwen Stefani!!! She is cooler than any 20-year old by far!!!

Let's hear it for the old ladies!

SJP, Renee Zewelleger, Selma Hayek, Uma Thurman....

I've noticed that when studios want to launch somethign big---they still reach for the 'old guns'....the young ones these days aren't doing as well carrying the billboards. (angelina and reese are the exceptions-but they aint that young).

[Anonymous]

Who is SJP? I agree that Hayek is hot, but Zellwegger, Kidman and Thurman are ugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who is SJP? I agree that Hayek is hot, but Zellwegger, Kidman and Thurman are ugh.

Oh- I wasn't talking hot--just still relevant in Hollywood over 40. SJP=Sarah Jessica Parker

[Anonymous]

When you're 70 you will wish you were 40.

[Anonymous]

No way! I was a bit freaked out when I approached 40, but okay when it arrived. I'm 46 now and my 40s have been even better than my 30s. Not old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is probably a very silly question but this is an off-topic area. I cannot believe it, just cannot digest that I will be turning 40 in 2010. I don't feel this age and it is almost painful to think that 40 year old is me !!!! I wonder how others perceive 40. Funny thing I could not care less about turning 30 and was totally fine with my age until now.
I also wonder if you feel young, how old your DC(s) are.

Consider this: turning 40 means you are alive and if you don't turn 40, you will be dead. Which do you prefer? Age is just a number and if you think you are old, then you are old. As someone famous (I don't remember who) once said, he didn't even become interesting until he was 50, so you have ten years to go.

[Anonymous]

I've been 40 for 8 months now and yeah, the word for it is middle-aged. There is no denying that the bloom of youth is off the rose, but that's ok. My goal is to look and feel good "for my age" but most of all to keep an open mind and to always question what I believe to be truel.

Before she passed away, I had the pleasure of meeting Evelyn Nef: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/15/AR2009121504812.html.

In our brief conversation, she grabbed my hand and told me "I think as we get older, we ought to become more radical, don't you?" I'm adopting that as my mantra.