{ 104 comments… read them below }

    1. ThursdaysGeek*

      BTW, since I’m a geek, I try to count the age in hexidecimal. That makes you 28. (It’s a bit awkward when your age has a letter, but it works for some ages — I’m 33!)

  9. Liz in the City*

    Happy Birthday! 40 is the new 30, you know (or so I’ve heard). Have a great one!

  10. Sascha*

    Happy birthday!! I just celebrated mine 2 days ago! Yay for May birthdays! :) I hope you have a wonderful day, spend the day resting, having fun, and snuggling your kitties. :)

  15. Jennifer O*

    Hope you have (had) a fabulous birthday. You absolutely deserve it. Wishing you all the best for your next 40 (and beyond)!

  16. Kelly O*

    Happy birthday! Enjoy your day! (I’m about five years behind you, so set a REALLY good example that I’ll just die if I don’t live up to!)

  28. Christine*

    I’m about 5 months behind you Alison! Oh goodness, I’m not ready to be considered “middle-aged”! lol.

    Anyway, you definitely deserve the day off with all the hard work you do for AAM. ENJOY!!!

  31. fposte*

    Happy birthday, Alison. The forties are an excellent decade–I’m sure you’ll enjoy them!

  34. A. Noni Mouse*

    Happy Birthday, Alison! I’ve always heard that your 40s are the best years, so enjoy!!! Have a great day :)

  35. Anonymous*

    Happy Birthday, Alison! I’m a May baby, too–it’s a great time of year to celebrate! :)

  47. Ali*

    Happy birthday! One of my closest friends is 40 and fabulous, so I’m sure you’re just as much as her. ;)

  50. BGirl81*

    Happy Birthday!! Btw, based on your picture, I always thought you were around 28. Carry on, girl! :)

  51. College Career Counselor*

    Happy birthday, Alison! Remember, you’re only as old as you feel.

  52. Ed*

    Happy birthday.

    I turned 40 in December and it was sort of weird. On one hand, I didn’t think about it. I mean, I don’t feel any older and I’ve accomplished quite a bit in my first 40 years. If anything, it made realize that, since almost everyone in my family lives past 90, I’m not even halfway there yet. But, the reaction from other people is sort of depressing.

    It finally hit me that the issue isn’t that 40 feels old but that it is considered old by everyone else. I even wrote someone a message on OKCupid the week after my birthday and they responded “thanks but my age cutoff is 39”. So it would have been fine if I wrote you last week? And then I remembered, oh yeah, 40 is old.

    1. Steve G*

      39 as a cut-off is too young. How time flies. I remember my parents’ 40th Bdays, they were big parties; me and my siblings were around 10yo. Now I am 32, the youngest, and don’t have kids yet. The pressure is so on. I don’t feel pressure at work (which is course is what this blog is mostly about!), but in my personal life, I feel huge pressure to do certain things by 40……and as many people write here, its weird, because I feel so young, so expect I’d still feel young at 40.

      Happy Bday AAM!

  55. I wish I could say*

    Best wishes for a very happy birthday and many more to come!
    Thank you for all that you do!
    Party like a rock star! ():-)

  57. Karyn*

    Mazel tov! And 40 is not middle aged unless you’re only planning to live to 80! :)

  64. Jessa*

    Have a wonderful birthday Alison, and for someone who wasn’t going to work today, I see 3 posts, wow you’re amazing.

    Hope you have a lot of fun.

  68. Michael*

    whoo hoo! somebody else who shares my birthday. But, I am 8 years your elder!

    happy birthday!

  72. SC in SC*

    First of all happy birthday! Second…I have officially decreed that 40 is not middle-age. It has now been pushed to 50. That way I can rationalize my mid-life crisis and justify getting rid of the family van and buying myself a sexy little convertible. I figured if I waited until now to be middle-aged then I would at make it to at least 100 or so.

  74. Rana*

    Happy birthday!

    And here’s a weird thought for you: think of how long your life has been up to this point, and all the things you’ve done, and all the changes you’ve gone through… and realize that you probably have that many more years (or more!) still to come!

  83. Jane*

    Happy birthday from someone who wishes I had discovered this blog sooner (now I have added reading AAM to my morning routine!)

  84. Joey*

    Alright, I know you’re probably a realist like me so you know all the commenters telling you 40 is young are full of it. 20 is young. But, I bet you dont feel anywhere as old as you imagined you would when you were young. 40’s a nice place. Enjoy it.

    Cheers!

    1. Jamie*

      This cracked me up – I love pragmatism.

      Hope you had a great birthday, Alison. It’s too bad our Chicago get together is tonight instead of last night…because we could have had cupcakes in your honor!

      And for those in the Linkedin group who don’t check everyday (hard to believe) a couple of us are getting together for pizza tonight as our first Chicago AAM get together. Just wanted to give a heads up for you Chicagoans who might not have checked Linkedin but want to join that would be awesome!

  86. Hlx Hlx*

    Hope you’ve had a wonderful birthday, Alison, and best wishes for a milestone year!

  88. Carrie in Scotland*

    Many happ returns. Hope your day was filled with love, happiness, cats & cake!

  89. Waerloga*

    Happy Birthday !

    And forty isn’t middle age… You’ve 10 more years to go!

    Take care

    W

  91. Irish reader*

    Breithlá Shona Duit! Many thanks for all the common-sense work advice you have given the Internet and which has helped pull me out of a slump at work. :-)

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