Thursday, February 6, 2014

Forty:
A term used to express poor ability in aspects such as balance or speed or agility in the real world… ud (Urban Dictionary)

My life is coming to an end. My days are indeed numbered.  In fact, I will have breathed 14,600 days (that is approximately 252,288,021 inhalations – yes, I am counting) on February 5 of this year.  It all seems so slow.  It has taken me forever, well 40 years, to get here and now the media tells me I will begin to slow down and my mind and body will not be as sharp? My teenage children question my mental acuity, methods and even my physical strength.  I suppose I should listen as they are blessed with a higher, all knowing power in this precious decade of omniscience; still I have not embraced the idea that I am slowing down in any way or that my body has begun to make irreversible changes without my permission.  What is with my aching joints and two day hangovers after a little wine?  Balance, especially mental balance, I see; my brain and emotions fly all over the map at any given moment, but I am not entitled to a little insanity after living 40 years on this crazy planet?  Plus, it’s fun.

Today I had a colorful conversation with Gary at the Whole Food’s Bakery near where I live; we commiserated about raising teenage boys.  He told me he did not swear at his children. I thought, you poor man, how else do they hear you unless you speak their language? The deer in the headlights look immediately shifts to shocked disbelief, then total clarity when I throw a few bombs into the conversation.  Of course, this no longer works for me because I over did it…just a bit; must be that balance thing again.  The beautiful thing about 40 is I do not care about the judgments of store staff – now just give me a screaming toddler – I’ll fix ‘em.

I have long anticipated this milestone birthday, not unlike my 4 year old who dreams of ponies and Santa arriving to help her celebrate her special day. If only the world would revolve around me like it does for my daughter for five minutes.  I imagined myself financially secure, knowledgeable, patient and ready to begin the rest of my life. My life is not how I envisioned it, not even close, yet I have to say it is good – really good. The skeletons in the closets removed while the stories and memories, both positive and negative, collect on the shelves.  Spills and clutter of daily life cover my floor, but now, more often than not, I lovingly accept. I understand the mess as part of the dirt in the garden of my life – entirely necessary and good.

At 40, I am no longer Grody Jody. The child in me still exists, but now I have options.  I can scream, cry, be sensitive, understanding, wise or throw things at any given moment. I find it a bit strange, but friends, family, clients, random people in stores have always called me Kiddo.  Most bear no relation to one another, it is just the name I am given.  Fortunately, I find it endearing.  I wonder how long I will hold the name after 40?
 
Memories pop into my mind like popcorn in the movie of my life, but as I watch the show, the person in the film is no longer me; certainly part of me, but mature and complex like a good Scotch Whiskey. The best thing about being 40 is as my youth passes away, I feel like I get to start over again only this time, I have a secret decoder ring and super powers I lacked as a kid.  Now I am unstoppable! By the way, has anyone ever see the movie, The Incredibles?  The mom’s super powers of elasticity is totally awesome.  Who thought of that?  Probably someone over 40.

In my dreams, I am a super writer. Contemplating what I want to say is interesting, but how I want to say it is infinitely more amusing. In a moment of temporary brilliance, or perhaps weirdness, I discovered the perfect idea:  Funny + Profound = PROFANITY.  Look for it in the next blog post in 2 weeks.

Have a great week and visit me again soon.

Jody


p.s. Gary just left for the day from Whole Foods where I am writing.  He knows my name.  Guess what he said? Good Night Kiddo. Must be on my forehead.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Jody, in today's world 40 is young! Enjoy it! you're smarter, you know what you want and you don't have to put up with any crap anymore. $0 is a good age and you still have the other half or more of your life to live! Have fun! By the way, you should start writing again!

Unknown said...

haha! Had to laugh at my mistake! 40, not $0 lol! I guess I'm not awake yet..

Unknown said...

Jody, my sweet cos . . .this is brilliant!!! seriously! Brilliant, with an editor you could conquer the world!!! Gotta love them! Happy Birthday . . .but more than that, wow, you go girl!!!! Keep dreaming big . . it is happening! I am so so amazed! Every word seemed to go together to make me feel what you are feeling . . . only from my side of the fence !!! wow! Your mom used to write some great letters in her day . . .but this tops it totally! You got her flare! man! yes! I hope you just feed it as you can and keep it going. As Liz Gilbert once said about MUSE . . .she was driving one day and it came upon her . . . like a wind gale .. .and she was fucking driving!!! so she calmly said to her muse . . .I can feel you . . . but I am driving now, please come back again later! Gosh I love that !!! So many times the Muse in my heart comes whirling in . . .sad thing is . . . I might have time but I rarely write it . . .I just feel it . . . and get all hot and excited about something to write!!!!ok, gotta hit the hay .. .but love you so much!
As Gram Alva would say . . .Goodnight SWEET pea . . .
love Rebecca (50 is great too, except for the eyesight thing . . .)

Jody Romero said...

Thank you. I had so much fun writing this; I'd forgotten how much I love it.Your comments are very encouraging. Love ya.

Jody Romero said...

Thank you. I had so much fun writing this; I'd forgotten how much I love it.Your comments are very encouraging. Love ya.

Anonymous said...

I missed your birthday!?!?! No fair, but I forgive you for aging. lol. Looking forward to reading all of your blog entries. Keep up the good work!

Claire ;-)