What birthday did you struggle the most with?

[Pom]

40 hit me hard.  I was on a cruise with H and I was just a sobbing mess.  I was missing my friends and all the fun we had in our younger years.  Since then, I simply feel myself slipping ever further towards resignation.  I no longer give much of a shit.

[flex]

Turning 40 caught my attention. But I didn't "struggle" with it. It was right before Y2K and my mind was blown that not only was it a new decade but a new century and a new millennium.

FYI my 40's were the best years of my life. So don't cry.

[TBM]

I think my kids birthdays hit me harder than my own....how am I old enough to have a 36 yr old daughter? This is when I remind myself that we were relatively young (in our early 20s) when we had our kids, so we aren't that old. ;p

Honestly, I have never really had issue with getting older.  It could have something to do with rounding up my age. When my birthday rolls around I turn the age that I have already been saying that I was for the previous few months, so it is nbd. lol  Really I think it has more to do with having relatives who lived well into their nineties. Forty or fifty sounds young when you have the prospect of living another fifty years.  

My H struggled with 24, 29, 34...you get the idea.  For some reason, the idea of hitting milestones and feeling pressured (by himself) because there was only a year to achieve whatever it was that he thought he would have achieved by the upcoming milestone really made those years hit him hard.

[TBM]

Apr 8, 2016 12:33:56 GMT -5 flex said:

FYI my 40's were the best years of my life. 

This. My 40s were the best.  I don't really have too many complaints about my 50s, but my 40s really were the best so far.

[rosiebear]

I haven't struggled with any of the milestone birthdays, and my 40s have been awesome. Im staring 50 directly in the eyes and it feels ok so far, because I don't really feel old. I'm actually shocked that I turn 50 this year.

I look old, but I don't feel old, lol.

[treedimensional]

None of them?

[Pom]

Apr 8, 2016 12:53:24 GMT -5 mryrcn said:

My last birthday when I turned 45. We had moved to a new city and I basically had no one here but my husband.

I guess that was probably my issue.  Being away from friends and family was hard right then.  It really only lasted that day and it kind of hit me out of the blue.  We just now moved close to my sister and youngest niece (she's 26 and we are very close). I haven't lived near my family in 20+ years.  This year, when I turned 46, I hosted my own birthday dinner and was happy as a fat clam.

[rosiebear]

My H had a very difficult time with 52, the age his father died, and 53. When he turned 56 earlier this year, being older than his father was when he died didn't seem as strange or troubling any more.

[Gato]

None yet. I think if, when I turn 50 in two years, I'm still farting around at home without direction, I'll be feeling not so great.

[MixedBerryJam]

Maybe it was just out of ignorance, but 35 was really hard for me. If "old" is 70 then that makes 35 "middle aged" and I was not ready to be middle aged. Of course, I hadn't yet met my husband, so I'm sure that played into it too. By the time the next milestone arrived (40) I had found the place where birthdays don't really faze me at all anymore. I hate more than fuck that H isn't here for them, but the birthdays themselves I don't mind. Of course, LOL now that 35 seemed so over-the-hill. Little did I know I was just strapping on the rockets when I was 35!

[karenj]

30.  I felt like in my 20's people pretty much gave me a pass because she so young but in your 30's they expect you to be an adult.

[Pom]

Apr 8, 2016 13:44:15 GMT -5 rosiebear said:

My H had a very difficult time with 52, the age his father died, and 53. When he turned 56 earlier this year, being older than his father was when he died didn't seem as strange or troubling any more.

See, this is how I think I will feel when I hit my dad's age when he passed (58).  I think how your H felt is probably quite normal especially when your parents pass relatively young.

[sweetcheeks]

31. I was depressed for months. 30 was fine, because it was a milestone birthday and was celebrated. But being 31 meant I was IN my thirties and I felt so old. Of course, driving a station wagon didn't help. Once I snapped out of my depression (by standing up to my husband and doing something for myself that I really wanted to do), I was fine. LOVED my 40's. 57 was weird for me, as that was my Dad's age when he died. I was relieved to turn 58.

I'm thinking 60 might feel odd. It seems so old to me.

[mortomo]

This year I'll be 47 and knowing that I'll be in my late 40's is crazy. I think this will be a difficult year. I feel like I should only be around 30. I always thought that 50 seemed so old and now I'm almost there myself!

Like another poster said, my son's birthdays have more of an impact than mine. He just turned 21 last week and it blows my mind! How in the world do I have a child old enough to legally buy beer?!?!

[dorothyinAus]

I really haven't had a hard time with any of my birthdays. My 18th was sad because it was the first day of classes in college and I didn't know anyone yet and I missed having friends to celebrate with. I even had a big pin that said "It's My Birthday!" and lit up and no-one wished me Happy Birthday. But that was more the situation than turning 18.

My friend had a lot of trouble with turing 30. So I threw her a 3rd birthday party instead. It was funny and she enjoyed it.

[mrsukyankee]

30 but not because I turned 30. It was because I was expecting to hang out with a close friend and she blew me off, so I had no one to hang out with (my family was hours away and it was the day after Xmas so no one else was around). I felt very sorry for myself.

I do think 50 will be a bit of a shock to my system. I turned 47 this past year and it just felt weird being in my late 40s.

[aMrsin09]

I stopped having birthdays when I was 29. Now I just have anniversaries of my 29th b'day. 

But in all seriousness, 35 was hard, not sure why.

Last year was not so great.  I had to pick up my first pair of glasses on my 49th b'day.  That was when it hit me that Holy hell, I'm going to be ... "that number".  

This is just unacceptable.  

I've not been dealing with it well this whole year.  I usually like to celebrate my birthday in some way, but I think this one may see me tucked in with a bottle of rum and a movie.  and cake.

[mortomo]

Apr 9, 2016 6:19:35 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

30 but not because I turned 30. It was because I was expecting to hang out with a close friend and she blew me off, so I had no one to hang out with (my family was hours away and it was the day after Xmas so no one else was around). I felt very sorry for myself.

I do think 50 will be a bit of a shock to my system. I turned 47 this past year and it just felt weird being in my late 40s.

I had a similar thing happen on my 30th.  I had plans to go out with one of my friends and she called to cancel last minute because he uncle had passed away.  Of course I understood why she didn't want to go out.   Another friend changed her plans with her boyfriend to go out and have drinks with me,  which was nice.  When we walked into the bar,  who did I see?   My 'friend' who canceled on me with another group of friends.   

I have not spoken to her since!  I hope she felt like an ass!

[mrsukyankee]

mortomo, what a bitch!

[Mrs.Rad888]

I can't say that any one birthday has hit me that hard, but I haven't loved my 40's like some posters have. I struggled with it for 5-6 years, and I guess now I've come to a reluctant acceptance of my age. I don't even know why. It's not like I had big plans that didn't pan out. Kids are grown, so DH and I are pretty much free to do whatever we want. I think it's because after being self-sufficient for so long, I've been financially dependent on DH for almost my whole 40's. I guess I feel like I've moved backwards, but I can't blame that on my age.

[mich1]

I've got 60 coming up in 4 years. This is the first one I'm really hating.

[Deleted]

Apr 9, 2016 15:44:31 GMT -5 mich1 said:

I've got 60 coming up in 4 years. This is the first one I'm really hating.

Whenyou get there it won't be bad. Trust me. As stalkermom said, it beats the alternative! For me, 50 was the pits. Lots of things happened to me at that time. I didn't handle being 50 very well. Four years of too much wine drinking and I found myself in trouble. That's a crappy solution and I don't recommend excessive drinking to cope with any damn birthday. More about that later...❤️

[read247]

Turning 30 was the toughest birthday for me so far. I'd just expected to be in a certain place by then, and I wasn't. These days, like several of the pps, it's my kids birthdays that hit me harder...I'm not ready for the fact that by fall my "baby" will be in double digits and her older sister will be a teenager.

[kittycatlove]

Apr 8, 2016 20:28:14 GMT -5 mortomo said:

wThis year I'll be 47 and knowing that I'll be in my late 40's is crazy. I think this will be a difficult year. I feel like I should only be around 30. I always thought that 50 seemed so old and no I'm almost there myself

This is exactly how I feel.  Up until now I haven't really struggled with any.

Though having a five year old is definitely keeping me young, LOL.

[mortomo]

Apr 9, 2016 19:26:17 GMT -5 kittycatlove said:

Apr 8, 2016 20:28:14 GMT -5 mortomo said:

wThis year I'll be 47 and knowing that I'll be in my late 40's is crazy. I think this will be a difficult year. I feel like I should only be around 30. I always thought that 50 seemed so old and no I'm almost there myself

This is exactly how I feel.  Up until now I haven't really struggled with any.

Though having a five year old is definitely keeping me young, LOL.

OMG...I couldn't imagine having a 5 yr old at this age! You're brave!  Lol

[mrsukyankee]

Apr 9, 2016 21:32:39 GMT -5 poundcake said:

I'm 45 and that has been the hardest. It's affected me so much in so many ways and very badly. I'm in therapy and I want to bring it up to the therapist but I'm afraid he'll think I'm stupid or won't be able to help.

Nope, he won't and it's definitely worth talking about.  If he does say anything, then he's wrong. (Says the therapist who would totally have talked about it as serious even when I was 30 and wouldn't have 'gotten it'.)

[Linie]

I think my next birthday will be a little hard: 46 in September. My mum died when she was 45 and it will feel strange to be older than that. Otherwise, I have had no problems with any "number".

[matildasun]

27

[mags]

I don't think I have had any trouble with any of them.

[wanderlustmom]

39. I felt like I needed to be more accomplished professionally. I am not sure why because I'm usually content. 40 hit and I relaxed again