Turning 40 on My Own Terms

I turn 40 this week. No big trip, no party. Just a very specific wish list: time with my husband, my daughter, and my 99-year-old grandmother, and as much time in the water as I could get this summer.

I picked up surfing 15 years ago and have spent most of that time being mediocre at it. This year, for the first time, I set out to actually get better. Best surfing shape of my life and best turns I have ever done. And of course, in between swells getting as much dog surfing in as possible.

I got there.

Nobody needs to peak at a sport in their 40th year. That was never the point. The point was choosing, on purpose, what I wanted this birthday to actually be made of, instead of what a milestone birthday is supposed to look like.

So this is the whole update: a great day with the three generations under my roof and the best surf sessions of my life this summer. That is the entire achievement. I will take it.

Turning 40 feels good when you spend it on the things you actually love instead of the things you think you are supposed to want.

What did you choose to spend your last big birthday on, once you stopped trying to impress anyone with it?