I turn 39 tomorrow. Which I hadn’t worried about too much, until coincidentally this study came out this week. Essentially it says that people in their 40s are depressed. And it’s not just people in the U.S., researchers studied people in the 40s across the globe and found pretty much they’re in a funk. Great.

 Why? One theory is that by the time you’re 40 you realize that perhaps you are not going to be an astronaut, or win a Tony or intercept a comet hurling toward Earth thereby ensuring that the WHOLE WORLD totally owes you. Somehow we deluded people in our 30s still think we’re going to accomplish these things. And according to scientists I’m going to continue to believe my Oscar’s a-coming just around the corner for twelve more months. Next year at this time I’ll come crashing down and realize I’m washed up. Thank you scientists, for that warning.

 Except…

When I was in the 8th grade I wrote an essay about why I wanted to be a broadcast journalist. Sure winning an Oscar sounds like fun, but I have nothin’ to complain about career-wise. I envisioned this career when I was a kid.  I’ve had several dreams fulfilled actually. In the first grade the nuns asked us to draw a picture of what we wanted to be when we grew up. All the girls at the Catholic school drew pictures of teachers or nuns. I drew a pictures of me as a cocktail waitress. Yes – this was my goal in the first grade. And if you frequented the bar of Ahmed’s Family Cafe circa 1991..  you’ll have seen me living out that dream. You also would have been waiting and waiting for me to get back with your mixed up drink order but really, hey you , get off of my cloud.

So instead of worrying that I didn’t accomplish some world changing solution for shower curtain mildew I’ve got a plan to head off the depression that scientists assure is a-coming just around the corner. 

The late Erma Bombeck showed me the way. In 1976 she wrote a column called “I Was 37 Years Old at The Time.” She pointed out that Margaret Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for Gone With the Wind at age 37, that Margaret Chase Smith was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1948 at age 49, Ruth Gordon won her first Oscar at 72, Golda Meir was elected prime minister of Israel at 71. She went on to point out that she herself, Erma Bombeck, was 37 when she decided to begin her amazing career as a columnist.  More recently I read Paula Deen’s autobiography. She opened her catering business at 42. Carol Gardner adopted Zelda and started a multi million dollar business at age 52.

I could go on. There are countless examples of amazing adventures had by those past 40.. 50… oh and look up how old recent award winner Ruby Dee is.

So what with 40 being the new 20 I’m thinking I can sit around for at least another 20 years until I get cracking on that astronaut training!

The study also found that once you hit 50 you snap the heck out of it. So if you’re younger than me, don’t worry, getting past 30 is no big deal. And if you’re older than me get this… the number one T.V. show in 1969? Laugh-In! I think it’s a sign.

P.S. I showed this blog to my dh, he reviewed this entry of mine as pitiable. He’s 40.