10 Problems I'm Facing In My Forties

Oct 29, 2018

No, I am not here to complain about how old I am. I am this old now and there isn’t anything I can do about that. Being forty really is not that big a deal and is quite alright actually.

The good news is that you feel more confident about yourself, don’t give in to too much crap, and are not as willing to let others get in the way of your happiness.

However, there are a few minus points here. These are purely my personal thoughts and you may have your set of these issues if you are in your forties. Or you might be the lucky few who are totally not aware of these negativities and are blissfully happy with your lives. If you happen to be in this category – good for you!

So here is what I struggle with in the 40s. Let’s see if you can relate to any of this.

I still think that the 90s were just ten years ago. What happened to the last 10 years? Why does it feel like this time is missing? What did I do these last 10 years? The thought of not knowing scares me a lot.

It is getting harder to pick up new skills. The problem is that I can’t seem to keep in new information and tend to switch off while trying to learn them. I used to be so good with languages, now it seems to have abandoned me.

Now I have all the different languages like French, Dutch, and Spanish circling around me. A friend tried teaching me a dance routine. Let’s just say I am glad it wasn’t recorded by anyone watching.

I grew up in a time where the most complex device was the telephone that was plugged into the socket. It came with a circular dial, and you had to manually turn each digit, and have them all correct. Make a mistake and you have to dial it over. And a phone was just to talk – nothing else.

In today’s world, we have social media that I do use on my laptop. And I do feel like I do understand it. But when I meet a younger friend or colleague, I learn how much I am doing it wrong. I probably don’t get it as much as I think I do. And what in the world is iCloud? And why does it always say my storage is full? I never really got what this whole cloud storage was about.

Somehow my preference in music seems to be stuck in the 90s. I look through Spotify and I don’t even recognize any of the artists listed. The only way I hear new music is if I take a glimpse of MTV at any café I happen to visit.

I do know who Bruno Mars is, and a little bit about Taylor Swift. But I do have older songs stuck in my head for days. Then I get reminded that such songs were released twenty-eight years ago. And that makes me sad.

First, it was just my knees. Now even if I lift my shoulders to my ears in the morning, it makes cracking noises. Yikes!

I have always talked to my cats. But these days these conversations seem to be deeper – and even involve politics.

I even have been having long conversations with random people at the stores now. I do remember my mother doing this when I was younger. Now I suppose it’s my turn. This does mean that there are people always behind me annoyed and restless to pay at the cashier while I am busy chatting away. But that doesn’t bother me. I just let them wait for me.

I should say that it is getting harder to read the writings on packages these days. I do have glasses that I used to use just for reading. However, these days I rely on them to even see what’s in front of me, and to avoid walking into the busy streets.

I don’t like the notion that I need to be wearing a certain kind of attire when I turn forty. I like being one of those hipster ladies who is trendily dresses and boldly accessorized even when I am 85.

Even then, there is a whole floor at the mall that doesn’t seem to appeal to me. Things like cropped tops, neon colors, and white shorts – none of these seem to be ok with me anymore.

You see… I am always right! So I tend to not back down at all, for anything.

I don’t have time for a lot of things. If you want to ramble on and on about something that isn’t quite important, then I am not the right person. I wouldn’t want to sit and listen to that. I would probably hurry you along.

Are you in your forties as well? What do you struggle with? Do any of these struggles sound familiar to you? Or am I the only one who feels this way? (I sure hope not). Do pass this on to your friends who are in their forties and see what resonates with them.