40

It's been waaaay too long, but I'm back with an honest post on the eve of my 40th birthday. (ouch!) It's 11:46pm and I am still awake; for someone my age, that's entirely too late.

To my 20 year old self...from my almost 40 year old self. 

1. All that running you're doing and will continue to do...try something else like swimming or biking. Your knees will thank you.

2. Listen to me. Get out there and jump on a trampoline! Seriously, go do some back flips or something. After 4 pregnancies and deliveries, one jump and you will pee yourself.

3. Wear sunscreen... and be glad you were too broke to pay for a fake tan all those years when your friends were.

4. What's on the inside is way more important than what's on the outside. The world will tell you otherwise.

5. That cheesy sunflower tattoo you almost got but didn't...good call.

6. Learn how to say "no," sooner rather than later. You don't realize it now, but you are a people pleaser and you will say "yes" just because. Stop it.

7. You are never going to acquire a taste for beer. Never. You can stop trying.

8. You think you are blessed right now, just wait and see what God has in store for you!

9. A sleeve of crackers is not a meal. Not even when you pair it with a Diet Dr. Pepper.

10. Enjoy those flat abs. I mean, really enjoy those...and that tight butt too.

11. You are wondering, and yes, you will get stretch marks.

12. Skip some of your college classes. It turns out, you won't miss any key piece of information that will make or break your entire college career.

13. This is going to sound crazy...but you are going to be a Dallas Cowboys fan. Your future husband will convert you. Ridiculous, I know. Get yourself some team t-shirts and save them, because these will be considered "throwback" and "retro" in no time.

14. Never say never. Never. (You will wear skinny jeans, cheer for Texas Tech, and your kids will have boogers stuck to their faces in public...all things you said you would never do. Get over it.)

15. Learn to cook, play the guitar and sew. Right now. Seriously. Make it happen.You are not as busy as you think you are.

16. You think you don't have boobs now... just wait until after you nurse four babies.

17. Trust your instincts.

18. Kegels...do them. (See #2)

19. After having children, you are going to say things you never thought you would hear yourself say, like, "We don't put light sabers in our penis..." and "We don't eat poop."

20. Major on the majors and minor on the minors - Don't sweat the small stuff.

21. Go to Africa! This opportunity will not arise again for a VERY long time. Do it.

22. You won't meet the man you will marry until you are 29...so go live your life and feel free to give up dating until then. It's overrated.

23. 40 seems old to you right now, but someday you are going to be 40. It's not old; it's all about perspective.

24. See yourself the way God sees you. You are fearfully and wonderfully made...

25. Go to bed. I mean it. Get sleep. You will need it later. 1:30 am might seem just fine right now. Your eyes and body will surely hate this hour when you are forty.

On that note, good night. Forty, let's do this!