It happened. It was bound to sooner or later. Actually, it happened right on schedule.
When I was a young lad, a teenager, I remember thinking that forty was a long way off. I did the math in my head and realized that I would be forty in the year 2004. Wow, that was an eternity away.
Welcome to eternity.
Yesterday was my 40th birthday. I took the day off from work (do I really need an excuse to do this?), hung out with my wife, got cool presents from my family, fielded a few phone calls, received some warm greetings from friends at church as well as on my web site, and stuffed my face with cake and ice cream.
So what does forty feel like? A lot like 39, 33 and 25, actually. I don't feel forty. I don't look firty. And I most definitely don't ACT forty. So I asked my wife, "where is this proverbial "hill" that I have supposedly crossed over?"
She said, "Look behind you".
Rubbish. Everyone knows the hill peaks at fifty. That is, until you are approaching fifty.
My In-laws are some of the sweetest people you'll ever meet. They have truly accepted me in spite of myself, whatever age I claim to be. Like clockwork, I received a birthday card in the mail from them. Beyond the pre-printed greeting, my father-in-law wrote "May God bless you in your middle age".
Alrighty then. On to forty-one in pursuit of the middle of whatever and the ever-moving hill.
It's Del.icio.us!
Furl It!
May 6, 2004 12:05 PM
Hey - if you need any witnesses to the not acting 40 thing - let me know :-p
Again, happy days, Joel.
May 6, 2004 01:52 PM
Hmmmmm, 40 huh? Well Happy Birthday from a Canadian connection, albeit over the Net! My wife hit the 5 - 0 mark this year and tells me it was much more tramatic! I still like the thought that age is really mind over matter, if you don't mind, it don't matter! Somewhere there is an English teacher cringing. ; )
May 7, 2004 12:06 PM
(secret message to Joel - sent you an email - just want to make sure you got it and it didn't get gobbled up by a filter. Yes, I'm impatient :-p )
May 11, 2004 02:16 PM
JOEL life begin at 40, enjoy.
May 11, 2004 07:09 PM
I once read this:
"What is old age? 60? 70? 80? Old age is always ten years away from your present age.
Of course, if you are a mean and nasty person, your old age was ten years ago!"
May 11, 2004 07:51 PM
I loved your last line!!!! So true. I didn't feel "over the hill" at 40, nor did I at 50. I will be 55 in June and just look at it as "hump day" (Wednesday) and onward and upward to 60! Each additional year I tell myself, "Yes! I made it, did not read my name in the obituary and LIFE IS GOOD!!! Birthdays are rewards for making it through another year!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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