Welcome to On the Plus Side #11!
On the Plus Side is a series of short stories about real life positive or happy observations that I see every day. The purpose of these stories is to show the community that positive and happy events occur every day and to bring a smile to your face.
All SBD from this series will be donated to The Smith Family who support underprivileged children in their education. So upvote and resteem away!
The Big 4-0... How The Hell Did That Happen?
So I've almost completed another lap of the sun since I appeared on this lovely planet of ours. This will be my 40th lap, and to say that I haven't been approaching this year with dread would be a giant and very fat lie.
I seem to panic when it comes to these big numbers. I remember fiercely dreading my 30th birthday and wanting to bury myself in a hole with a nice bottle of scotch to drown my sorrows in. Of course, the wife threw a big party, I drank to much bubbly wine and we had a great time celebrating my 30th lap around the big fiery ball in the sky.
But 40... is there someone that I can talk to about getting a refund for the past 5 years? I much prefer being 35, it sounds so much sexier telling people that I'm in my mid-30's.
Anyway, enough complaining. I'm actually writing this while at my gym. I was just chatting with one of my clients and having a whinge about turning 40 and she said something that completely changed my perspective.
I should be celebrating the fact that I'm fortunate enough to turn 40 since, in many countries, I'd be considered incredibly lucky to have lived this long. This is a very common sense statement, and I quietly knew this in the back of my mind. But I'd never seriously given it much thought.
This young lady said that while she was in Africa. She saw a few birthday celebrations. Apparently, birthdays are a huge celebration over there. And the celebrations are huge because it is viewed as a great achievement for a person to have survived another year.
In a country like Australia, we take ageing for granted. We expect to live to a ripe old age. Many of my relatives have lived well into their 90s. My Nanna, for example, is 94 and is still living independently.
So, after having that conversation this morning, I've decided to start celebrating my progress towards 40 and beyond and looking at my increasing age as more of an achievement and something worth celebrating. I am extremely lucky to live in a country where we can reasonably expect to live to a ripe old age, but that doesn't make it any less of an achievement to have made it to becoming middle-aged.
And, let's be honest. Who doesn't like another excuse to drink wine that has bubbles in it?
How do you celebrate getting older? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
Funds Raised for The Smith Family to Date!
| Month | Amount (SBD) | Amount (USD) | Target (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| December | 7.463 | 56.05 | 500 |
All funds are stored in my savings wallet until our donation target is reached. I've increased the donation target to $500 as of Jan 2 2018 in order to allow for a reasonable donation amount after transaction fees.
I’ve created the tag #plusside so if you want to read all positive and fun stories I write for this series simply check this tag. And don't forget, all SBD from these posts is donated to a fantastic Australian charity - The Smith Family - so don't be shy with your up votes! Every bit helps!
