Column: Turning 40, a mid-life milestone

I turn 40 this month, and the universe gave me the best birthday present. I was gifted with AOA. My apologies if you’re not familiar. AOA stands for Adult Onset Acne: The gift every woman is praying for at night.

I went to my dermatologist, and she gave me medicated lotion to put on the scene of the crime, aka my forehead. On the back of the lotion bottle the description read, “for that stubborn teenage acne.” Oh great, what’s next? Should I bounce over to the orthodontist and see if he can put my braces back on? Maybe I’ll pop by the DMV and ask if I can take the driver’s test—just for fun.

Perhaps the pharmaceutical company could have two bottles made: One that reads for stubborn teenage acne and one that reads for stubborn middle-aged acne. The middle-aged acne bottle could also come with new tweezers for chin hairs you had never noticed before and a gift certificate for botox.

Part of me hates turning 40 and part of me loves it. Love might be a strong word, but I’m not against it. I can’t stop the aging process, so what else to do but embrace it?

I recently read an article that stated women are the most beautiful in their 40s. I texted my high school friend group with this exciting news. One of them replied, “Um, who wrote that article? You?” I laughed. I didn’t write that article, but I’m writing this one.

Sure, my skin isn’t as great as it was at 25 and wrinkles seem to come out of nowhere, but that’s just external. Inside at 40 there’s a sense of knowing myself, knowing my worth and staying true to my values. I’ve found myself less inclined to worry about what others think of me and less inclined to keep up with the Jones or the Kardashians.

Thirty-five years ago, my dad threw his best friend, Kevin, a surprise 40th birthday party at our house. My parents got him a shirt that read: So Happy I Turned 40, capitalizing the S, the H, the I and the T. My sisters and I thought it was so funny that the shirt had a swear word on it. What I didn’t know at the time was that Kevin had cardiomyopathy, a degenerative condition of his heart muscle. He had a heart transplant at 37, one of the first transplants in Illinois, but Kevin didn’t make it to 41.

Knowing this now as an adult, whenever I complain about AOA, or my wrinkles, or keeping up with others, I think of Kevin and truly am so happy I get to be 40.

See Bridget onstage at Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago on April 6 and 11.

Bridget McGuire is a Chicago-based storyteller, stand-up comedian and is a co-producer of “All That Good Stuff,” a traveling comedy show that started on the South Side of Chicago. Follow her on Instagram at @bmcguire82.