Did anything good happen to you in your forties?

Oh and at 44 I relocated from a large grotty city to a beautiful thriving market town, had worked in the same nhs trust for 24 years so moved trusts when I relocated and am really enjoying the new role.

Freedom!! I'm just about to turn 47, both kids at Uni. Remarried at 42 and we love life. Just returned from Sri Lanka just the two of us, now planning our next break. Kids both happy and settled at Uni life is so much more relaxing than my late 20s & 30s.

I moved into a new home, got a new job after being off work to do a severe mental health diagnosis, got engaged, and have been head hunted several times, dc1 graduated, dc2 started university. Way better than my 30’s!

You took up football and learnt piano? What sort of awesome creature are you?! 😊

Had my first relationship. Found and lost love. Agree re the decade of not giving a shit- very liberating

I ran a marathon?

I'll be honest though my 40s have been horrific since then. But specific to me, not everyone in their 40s.

This!! It is so liberating.

Started having health problems, hard work looking after kids then starting to look after parents...

I'm not a Hollywood actress. Are you?

Did a PhD, got a new job, lovely new house. DC continued lovely and it’s great seeing them become adults and start planning their futures. Got fitter- training for my first half marathon. Marriage continues to be wonderful.

I had a wobble in my early 40s, mainly about the fact I’d soft-pedalled my career in order to be around more for the kids. But I’m now back on track and have also made my peace with the decisions I made.

Now entering my late 40s. My plans for the last few years of the decade are to continue to develop my career, get a lot fitter and stronger (seeing old age approaching is very motivating- I’d like the best chance of a long and active life and have started to train and eat with that in mind- this is a real change for me), support my children through uni etc.

I don’t have any sense of being over the hill at 40. I have however got better at living my life as its protagonist and have no interest at all in focusing on myself as an object being perceived from the outside.

They also say life begins at 40, don't they?

Which I get. I made a lot of mistakes in my 20s and 30s, but landed a great job just before my 40th birthday, and met my now DH soon after.

I think I understand myself much better, and make wiser decisions as a result.

Everything. Got divorced. Wrote a book. Career took off, cos children older. Became very high earner.

Actually, I think all good stuff was result of getting divorced!

Met the love of my life, married him, buying a house, promotion. It ain’t all bad!

I turned 50 yesterday. In truth it has been a mixed bag. I looked after my health much better in this decade, including giving up alcohol and that has been a wonderful revelation. I know who I am now, and lots of alcohol fuelled nights out had masked the real me. I have stopped looking to others so much for approval as well, my 40s taught me to recognise and respect my good points and accept my flaws. I also re-took up a sport and have thrown myself into it, and that has brought me indescribable happiness and new friends. My career has also progressed well this decade, and my salary is very decent now. On the down side, I aimed to find a way out of my unhappy relationship by 50 and that hasn’t happened. And my teen has struggled with mental health issues a lot which has been very consuming and hard to deal with. I put on a lot of weight too, due to stress around my child being unwell and HRT. You have no reason to feel bad though, best approach is to start every decade with renewed optimism. And 40 is definitely not old!

Come off it, women are told practically from birth that ageing is a bad thing. Think of any Hollywood movie you've seen where the hero is 20 years older than his supposed love interest. The billion dollar anti ageing beauty industry. The lack of senior women around board room tables because older women are often seen as unemployable.

Embracing ageing is a welcome development but a relatively recent thing.

OP I am 41 and I have made a list of things I want to achieve in my 40s to give me some sense of control! Mostly travel and finances related but also learning how to cook certain dishes and some exercise goals. Maybe that would help?

I'm 49 now. When I turned 40 I was a SAHM with primary / preschool age DC. Since then I've got a job I love (not the same job I was doing pre-DC) and been promoted. I've raised three awesome teenagers. Still happily married to my lovely DH. It's been a good decade.

I got a pilot's license at 43. Never thought I'd achieve anything like that when I was younger.

It's been my best decade by far.

Had two children in my 40’s
Bought our dream house
Began a career I was passionate about
It was a brilliant decade for me

Had three children. Moved to the place of my dreams with my husband who qualified in his dream job. Life is amazing.

I’m now early 50s and DC are adult so it’s a great time for me to do my own thing. Each decade has good points and drawbacks.

Marketing?
No point worrying, you’re younger right now than you’ll ever be again so stop wasting time and enjoy your life, you’re alive!

After 4 years of not working (had to stop to look after DS who has SEN), retrained in a different field (mine involved too much travel). Got a job in this new field in my mid forties. Had to start from the bottom and badly paid but climbed up.

DC where primary age which I loved. Still my babies but a bit more independent and had social contact with nice mums.

Must say worst thing was what I know to be perimenopause! Had I known woukd have started on HRT sooner.

40s are good!!

Well done on leaving the religion.
I turned my back in an increasingly fundamental religion a while ago too - it's amazing to find me again!

Got a dog, Got divorced (yay), bought my own house, got a fab new job and then a promotion, met a new guy who is wonderful and who moved in last week and I am only 47!

Snap!