Do I really need a big party for my milestone birthday?

Do I really need a big party(ˈpärdē) for my milestone(ˈmīlˌstōn) birthday?

By Sarah(ˈse(ə)rə) Van Lange

I just turned 40 and I have to say, it feels really weird(wi(ə)rd).

I wouldn’t characterize(ˈkerəktəˌrīz) my unease(ˌənˈēz) as panicking(ˈpanik) in the traditional “over the hill” sense(sens), but these days it seems like no one from my generation would admit it even if they were.

Popular culture now espouses(iˈspouz) the importance of acceptance(əkˈseptəns), self-love and positive thinking, so being anything but utterly(ˈədərlē) delighted(dəˈlīdəd) about turning 40 is entirely out of fashion. Particularly for women and particularly for women with active social-media accounts.

My mom had the luxury(ˈləgZH(ə)-,ˈləkSH(ə)rē) of turning 40 without having to post an Instagram story about it. Joking aside, her 40th birthday is a day I remember really well.

We went out for dinner and my mom’s best friend gave her a mug(məg) that adorned(əˈdôrn) the phrase(frāz), “Lordy(ˈlôrdē), Lordy - Look Who’s 40.” It was white with purple(ˈpərpəl) bubble(ˈbəbəl) letters and it had a cartoon(kärˈto͞on) on it of a lady who was positively shrieking(ˈSHrēkiNG). Her eyes were bursting out of her face.

My mom opened the box and while she certainly laughed and smiled and was appreciative for the gift, that evening back at home she sipped(sip) her nightly cup of tea rather sheepishly(ˈSHēpiSHlē) from her new mug. I remember sitting beside her on the couch wondering what it could possibly feel like to be that old.

I turned 40 a week ago and with it the memories of my mom and her mug take on new meaning.

I don’t know exactly how I feel about this milestone, but I can easily surmise(sərˈmīz) how my mom must have felt about it all those years ago. She was a single mother raising(rāz) two little kids on her own, hours away from the help of her siblings(ˈsibliNG), in a city that was entirely new to her. I can only imagine that the milestone must have felt mildly(ˈmīldlē) terrifying(ˈterəfīiNG), certifiably(ˌsərdəˈfīəblē) shriek(SHrēk)-worthy even.

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https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-do-i-really-need-a-big-party-for-my-milestone-birthday/