Life Begins At 40? 50? Or Older?

 

The saying used to be “Life begins at 40!”

After 18 and 21, 40 was the next big birthday milestone. Parties and celebrations were long in planning with lists of invited getting longer and longer as the big event loomed closer.

Why 40?

Was this the age at which any off-springs may be considering the leap from the familial nest? Financial commitments such as mortgages may well be on the way to be finally paid off and just a few payments more – the FREEDOM!

40 – maybe a chance to have a huge bash and see those elderly Aunts and Uncles and cousins too numerous to count all in the same place. All gather with a common goal of celebrating your achievement of surviving all the years and life’s hurdles to now.

But in these days has the 40’s now become the 50’s?

Does Life now begin at 50?

Some tell-tales signs that people are getting on a bit – maybe over 50!

• Hate noisy pubs and prefer nights in to a night on the town
• Have no idea what “young people” are talking about
• Complain of aches and pains and groan when you bend down
• Need a daily afternoon nap
• Don’t know the names of any modern bands or any songs on the top 10 of the charts
• Can’t work every day technology such as tablets and internet TV
• In fact think tablets are forms of medication prescribed by a medical practitioner
• Think police/teachers/doctors look really young
• Are shocked by how racy music videos are nowadays
• Buy clothes and shoes for comfort rather than fashion
• Take a flask of tea on a day out
• Buying travel lollies for car journeys
• Forget people’s names and misplace glasses/bag/car keys
• Book a cruise, preferably that does not allow children
• Takes a keen interest in gardening and The Antique Road Show
• Feels the need to down-size – home/waistline/car
• Complains that TV is not like it was in the old day
• Listen to audio books
• Trade in the family car for something sportier
• Are thin on top but have bushy eyebrows and hairy ears and nose
• Recycle obsessively and know bin collection dates
• Fall asleep after one glass of wine
• Prefer a walk to a Sunday lie-in

Perhaps if you start thinking of yourself as old then you would start feeling old. In that case, for me, life begins at 90!