So, I turned forty-three almost two months ago. I know what you're thinking. I do. You're thinking, this article is going to be about all the bad things that go along with being a forty-something female.

Okay. You're partially right.

But...

Being forty-something isn't all that bad. In fact, I feel better at forty-three than I did at thirty-three. So all you thirty-somethings, it really isn't all downhill.

Of course, there are some pretty awful things about being a forty-something female. Hello, Menopause anyone? I don't know it first hand, but I've heard the horror stories from my mother and older female friends. Except, there's this lovely thing called pre-menopause and I am all up in the middle of that crap, and let me tell you...it sucks!

Let's talk grey hair. The struggle is real ladies. Thankfully, in 1907, a French guy named Eugene Schueller invented permanent hair dye. Let's all take a moment and silently thank him...

There are other miscellaneous things that go with being forty-something - wrinkles, aches and pains, not enough time for napping. But really, it's not all bad.

Despite the aforementioned negatives, I actually feel better now than I did ten years ago. It could be that my kids are ten years older and I'm not spending all my free time chasing toddlers around the house, but that is only a small part of it.

I have found that it is easier to set a routine and maintain it. In fact, the more I stick to my routine, the better I feel. Now, that's not to say I can't handle change, because I am a master at being a change warrior. Just ask my boss. I guess it all comes down to twenty-some years of making and learning from mistakes.

I find that I am more confident. I no longer care what others think of me. It has taken many years, but for some reason, forty was the magic age that had me seeing myself in a different light. I stopped worrying how I compared to everyone else. I no longer cared if I was heavier than other women or if my clothes or house or car measured up. It just didn't seem important anymore.

Another thing that seems to go along with being in my forties is the manner of my friendships has changed. I, personally, have three best friends (you ladies know who you are) and they are the most important to me. They accept me for who I am, support me no matter what and they don't want anything from me more than to be my friend. Long gone are the days of trying to impress everyone, have the most popular friends or have a large group of friends. I am happy knowing my three besties will be there for me when I'm old and grey and cranky. I'll gladly push their wheelchairs to the dining room when we're all stuck in the nursing home many years from now.

I like being in my forties.

So, to my teenage self, I say, "pffttt! Forty rocks!"