My 40th

I didn't want to turn 40.  I wasn't ready.  Most of the time, I can pull off looking younger than I am...that is until Alison and Eli walk up next to me.  Leading up to the day the kids would ask me if I was excited for my birthday and I would say "no".  My biggest encouragement came from Alison...one day we were in the car and this conversation came up and she said, "Mom, you've had 40 wonderful years of life and you will keep having wonderful years.  If you don't turn 40, I can't turn 15 and if you don't keep growing, I don't keep growing and I need you, by my side, to grow with me."  She was right.  Many wonderful things lie ahead in life and I can't wait to experience them.

I woke up to this:

Laughter was the perfect way to start the day!

Ben had stayed up late to surprise me with the dining room decorated.

I loved every gift and they were all so thoughtful.  My favorite one was a note from my family.  Ben and the kids each wrote down 10 things they love about me to make 40 things...they hadn't read each others cards and let's just say, it all made me cry happy tears.  I am blessed and loved by many and that's worth celebrating.

There were several things I thought I might do on my 40th: go to Hawaii or a vineyard or the Hamptons or run a race.  COVID and moving prevented those from happening, but Ben offered to run our own little race together.  We ran a fast 5k and the whole time I thought, "Take that 40!"

We picked up Sid's burgers for lunch and had a picnic in our backyard.  Then I took myself to the GIANT mall here and did a little shopping.  I realized that afternoon how incredibly long it's been since I've shopped...like try on clothes and go back and get different sizes and colors kind of shopping.  

When I got home, we went for a bike ride and Ben made butter chicken for dinner.  We picked up this chocolate mousse cake at the French Bakery and it was worth every single New York dollar.

That evening, Ben and I went to a wine tasting at the local wine shop.  They only sell 10 tickets, so it's very hard to get into.  Ben quickly snagged us some tickets when he saw they were doing white German wines on my birthday.  We couldn't make it to a winery, but this was a great compromise.  It was fun evening and we got to meet some fellow Sea Cliff-eans.