Life after mid-40’s

Age difference between 10’s and 20’s is just 10 years. The difference between 20’s and 30’s may be 10 years too. But, between the 30’s and 40’s, it’s way more than 10. I appear to have grown much older, physically and psychologically. This is possibly the beginning of the downward slope of the bell curve we call life.

I can no longer claim I am in my 40’s. It’s more appropriate to say, I am in my late 40’s. For, life after the mid-40’s changes all of a sudden, as I see it. My random experiences with life as I cross the pinnacle of the mountain (mid-40’s) to climb down to the other end:

• Until my mid-40’s, I counted increments in my age at each birthday. Now, I began to countdown the possible remaining birthdays. Life is starting to appear too short.

• Until my mid-40’s, I didn’t care much for my appearance. Now, I’m valiantly trying to hide the twinkling wrinkles all over my face and the shiny surface of my head.

• Until my mid-40’s, I played sports and activities that I was interested in and that excited me. Now, I started to pick those that are safe and less prone to injuries. This, I believe, is called, “playing it safe”.

• Until my mid-40s, when we friends got-together, we discussed college days and girls. Now, we started to discuss health issues and teenage children.

• Until my mid-40’s, when I traveled alone, I used to hope there was a girl sitting next to me and was disappointed if there was none. Now if there is one, they are so disappointed I am sitting next to them.

• I started to find fallen hair on the bed, the carpet, the kitchen floor, the couch, the laptop keyboard, and so on. Baffled, I wanted to scratch my head, and “ouch” it hurt, as there isn’t much left on it.

• I am not worried about career growth anymore. I rather struggle to keep up with younger people to keep my existing job. Thoughts about retirement are creeping in, almost every week.

• If I draw my family tree, it shrinks above me and grows below me. And if I look carefully, I might even find a leaf calling me grandpa.

• The other day I received a check for a large sum. It’s the life insurance policy that has matured, which I invested a 25yrs ago. OMG! Philosophy, Nirvana, Bhagavadgita, etc. all starting to make sense now.

However, it’s not all over yet. I still potentially have half my life left to live. Let me not get bogged down by these changes; I just need to change gears in the journey of my life!