47
Posted on May 10, 2016 Posted by John Scalzi 98 Comments
Yesterday morning, on the eve of my 47th birthday, Krissy asked me “do you feel old?” The question was rooted partly in the fact that today is my 47th birthday, partly because we were talking about time passing in a general sense, and partly because — and this is a thing they don’t tell you very often when you’re younger and you probably wouldn’t believe it even if they did — you don’t really ever feel different no matter what your age. You just go through life and then one day you’re 47 or something.
Here’s one answer to the question: No, I don’t feel old. 47 isn’t actually old, unless one has a career in sports, and I don’t. I certainly have more aches and pains than I used to. Last week I went in to get my leg checked because the spot where I tore my calf muscle last year was acting up again and the doctor said, basically, dude, you’re in your mid-40s, maybe you should stretch every once in a while. I’m balder than I used to be and I find it harder now to lose weight than I did even a few years ago, and my knees appear to be frequently unhappy with me.
But on balance these are minor things, and overall I still get to do what I want to do, physically, when I want to do them. Mentally I’m chugging along as well as I ever have, or least that’s how it appears from the inside; as far as the outside is concerned, well, you tell me. I don’t feel old, I just feel like me.
That said, another answer to the question is that I don’t feel young anymore, either. Some of this is due to the fact that there are two full generations of adults younger than me now, and some of those adults aren’t particularly young, either — sorry, everyone in their mid-thirties. Two generations of adults being younger doesn’t make me feel old, but it reminds me that the only way I’d be considered “young” is if I ran for president or landed on the Supreme Court (very unlikely in both cases). I’m also aware that adults responsible for big things are now my age or younger — the new mayor of London is younger than I am, and both Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, who ran for president, are younger than I am, too. Lots of important people now are people I could have gone to high school with; part of me finds that vaguely terrifying.
The other part of me doesn’t, however, which brings me to my third answer, which is that I don’t feel old, but I definitely feel like I’m an adult. This is one way of saying that I don’t look around anymore to find out who the grown-up is in any room. It’s me, or at least I’m one of them. Part of being an adult to me is knowing what your skills are and being confident in them (and when you don’t have particular skills, not being embarrassed about it — life’s like that). Part of it is being able to make decisions for yourself and others and being able to make a plan, even if that plan is “find someone who knows what the hell they’re doing.” Part of it is being responsible for yourself and, when appropriate, for others. And so on.
This doesn’t mean adults can’t be uncertain, or neurotic, or exasperated or whatever; I’m all of those things from time to time. It’s more of the knowledge that even with those things, no one else is coming to do the things you need to do. You might as well get on with it. I’ve been with that program for a while now.
I don’t think it’s that hard to be an adult, especially when one is in one’s forties; presumably by that time you will have had some practice. This is why I’m always surprised and usually sad when I see people well in the full flower of their thirties and forties or even older than that, amazingly, acting like petulant or obnoxious children, not just once in a while (we all have our moments, alas) but pretty much all the time as far as I can tell. Age does not in fact bring wisdom, unfortunately. With these folks generally I try to be charitable and assume they have some adulting skills somewhere that I’m not seeing, and otherwise steer clear of them when I can.
I like being an adult; I happen to think I’m pretty good at it. My wife is better at it, I will note, and I can rattle off a number of people of my acquaintance who I think are better at it than I am, some of them younger (and almost all of them women, as it happens). Nevertheless I know my strengths, and my weaknesses, and have several of each. I work on each of them as needed and appropriate, in part because I know that at this point, there’s no way out of being an adult. I’m going to have to keep doing it for the rest of my life. That’s fine by me.
I think in some ways the word for how I feel at 47 is “settled,” in what I think is a very positive sense. I am well-established in my career, and happy in my personal and professional life. I have enough in my past that I feel secure in what I do and my place in the world, but I think I have more accomplishments and opportunities in still front of me. It’s a nice place to be, and it’s a nice place from which to set out to do other things. I’m looking forward to it, and to the next year.
#QFMFT
Also, happy birthday.
Have you seen Louis CK’s bit about his ankle? Your comment about stretching brought that to mind.
Incurable Shitty Ankle
I turned 60 this year in March on the appointed day. It’s very strange to me, but I sure don’t feel different. And I still ~feel~ like I’m in my late 20s (even though my knees and back occasionally disagree).
But being 60 is just weird. I’ll feel much the same when I hit 70, no doubt. Strangeness. Oy.
… and Happy Birthday!
And happy birthday, John!
http://www.hedtke.com/downloads/happy_birthday.mp3
This hits home. There was a day when I suddenly realised that I was the adult in the room. People (that includes me) actually expected me to take decisions, even important ones. Why? Who authorised this to happen?
And then there are days when I miss not being an adult so much and just wish that there was somebody who could tell me what to do.
Happy birthday and happy adulting, Mr. Scalzi.
Happy birthday, John.
It was fascinating to read this, because of the cosmic accident of our birth dates. With a slight twist of biology, we could have been born on the same date or you could be a couple days older than me. Instead, I got a four-day head start. Those were probably four long days for your mother, but all these years later it is a meaningless amount of time.
When I read what you wrote, I found myself nodding in agreement. The aches and pains, the realization that I’ve gone from younger than every major-league baseball player I was writing about to being older than some of the managers, the understanding that no one will call me a “young” anything.
Sadly, I can’t use “settled” about my personal and professional lives – there are a lot of demons to fight and sports journalism isn’t a great field at the moment – but it is interesting to see how much of your experience is also true of mine.
You’re too young to feel old…yet. Give it time.
Figured this one out watching Jack Benny and Rochester many decades ago. I explain it with my .sig on Daily Kos:
“Conservatism is a function of age” ~Rousseau
“I’ve been 19 longer’n you’ve been alive” ~me
Celebrated the 52nd anniversary of my 19th birthday last Sept. Benny was off by 20 years.
Any year now, you’re going to have to start acknowledging that you’re now passed middle age because your life expectancy is likely to be less than (94, 96, 98, …114, …). Happy Birthday, and now everyone can sing to you the traditional song without the clowns from Warner getting paid a fee.
Happy Birthday, you youngster. :-)
Happy birthday, John.
Several years ago, I decided to finally get my college degree. Unlike some, for a number of reasons, this was actually my first time in college. I’m turning 46 in less than a month. I’m not even the oldest student in most of my classes! I have always had friends of different age ranges, but most of them tended to be somewhat closer to my own age.
Now I’m hanging out with a lot of people that are young enough to be my adult kids, if I had kids. On Veteran’s Day, I always wear my USAF field jacket. This past November I was sitting with a friend, when it suddenly hit me that my jacket was older than she was … by several years.
It may sound like I’m feeling old, and some days, I kind of am, but oddly enough, hanging out with these people, finding so many common interests, playing games, and sharing music … actually makes me feel if not young, at least like I’m not as old as I might feel otherwise. Not a bad deal, really.
In a dream you are never eighty. — Anne Sexton
Happy birthday.
The reason you still feel somewhat young is because you ARE still somewhat young.
At seventy, I no longer feel young. As Willy Nelson put it, I have outlived my dick. Every time I move, it hurts somewhere. And I am tired of it, tired of it all, tired of the insanity and conflict and all the rest. I’m tired of life, I’m tired of rhyme, and even money no longer gives me pleasure all the time. It’s sad to confess, but I am reduced to waiting for death.
So enjoy it while you can. If you still can.
Happy Birthday!
I’ve long felt that all years after your 20th birthday count (at least mentally) at a 50% discount. So, at 20 you think you’re 20. At 30, you think you’re 25. 40 = 30, 50 = 35, etc. This trend persists until something major, usually health-related, comes along to blow it all up and force you to confront your real age.
May it be a long time until that event finds you…!
Happy Birthday young’un! Back in my day, we just got old! And we liked it! Doing all this philosophising over being 47? Ha!
But , seriously. Feel as young as you want, and stay as young as you feel.
I’m not big on adulting. My personal philosophy is, they can make me get older, but they can’t make me grow up.
Happy birthday. I know what you mean about the knees. I miss those carefree days of my youth when I could plunge down the stairs and leap over the last few to land lightly without an “Oof, crunch” feeling.
Happy birthday!
This is pretty much how I feel at 45, though written much more articulately than I would attempt.
On top of your realisations, I also have the fact that my oldest kid is an adult and I teach people younger than him in a Uni. I have had to realise that I am old enough now to be the parent of the adults I teach, where once (years ago!) I was basically the same generation as my students. (The good news is that the vast majority of the 20-ish year old people I teach are great, hard-working people dedicated to improving the world – the majority of the next generation of adults are pretty amazing folks.)
Happy birthday, John! Glad you’re happy, I wish you boat loads of that (and good health too).
Happy Birthday John!
Happy Birthday, whippersnapper. Come back when you’re 67 (like some of us) and then tell us how you feel…if you can find your glasses and remember the question.
Oh, to be only 47 again.
*sigh*
Happy Birthday! Mine is this week as well…creeping up on 45.
Happy birthday, sir, and many more!
Happy birthday!! Always remember- aging is inevitable, acting it is optional. The body may age, but the mind..never.
On another note, because of your ‘august’ age and experience in the sci-fi world, a friend of mine is looking for the name of the author who wrote something that contains these words: “… older sci-fi short story that may be from the 40s -50s with the following info: “the guy was a licensed computer repair guy, but his credentials were wrong, so even though he was qualified, he couldn’t get a job, People without jobs for X amount of time are put to death, along with their families.” I’m adding it here with the hopes you might recognize, or maybe one of the amazing folks who read your blog. (and this is NOT meant to imply that you’re even remotely this old!!) It’s been driving me batty for two days; I think I’ve seen it, too, and also can’t remember who wrote it. Any ideas, John or the rest of you?
p.s.- the Scamperbeasts are growing into beautiful little cats! I’ve enjoyed seeing them grow up. And again, like people, they never lose their ‘kittenhood.’ It’s just not as amusing when they weigh 15 lbs. and are climbing the curtains.
A friend of mine said that when you’re young, you spend your time figuring out who you’re going to be. After a while, you understand who you are, and try to be as good at that as you can be.
(He said it better, but that’s the general idea)
Happy Birthday John!
—Christopher Hitchens
–Tom Lehrer
–Me
Happy birthday kiddo! I just turned 64. Two artificial knees, type II diabetes and cancer survivor (thanks Agent Orange), but otherwise doing fine. I agree with what you said about how I don’t feel old (except sometimes I get tired – I never used get tired), I just feel like me – which is a good thing!
A joke for your birthday, sent to me by my sister: Did you hear about the two ships that collided? One was carrying red paint and the other was carrying purple paint. It is feared that the crews of both vessels have been marooned.
Happy Birthday John and thank you for the chuckle so early in the morning. 47 is a spring chicken compared to sixty, but I still don’t feel old. Sometimes I find myself rocking to some old school music in my car only to look up and realize that I am this grey haired lady dancing in my car like I am 16 years old. But as the French say, “C’est Si Bon”, I would not have it any other way!!!
I sometimes use this as a conversation starter: If I woke you up out of a sound sleep and asked you how old you are, what you would say? For years my own answer was 27. Maybe it still is, if I don’t wake up with an aching lower back.
After giving a final exam yesterday, one of my students stayed after and we chatted about her major and her plans. I was energized by her passion and her vision, and we had many shared values, but I felt just enough older that I didn’t have her uncertainties. So, yeah, 27 sounds about right to me. I’ve had 30 years of practice at it.
And darn–forgot to say: Happy Birthday!
Maybe not so young as I thought, hmmm…
Happy birthday! I just turned 48 on Saturday, so I understand your perspective. Also, I saw a commercial for your Ohio Arts Award luncheon on TV yesterday. Such famous!
Have a wonderful day! You make the world a better place.
Happy 47th!! I just turned 46 last month; I, too, can completely relate to your post. I’ve embraced being “old” to my kids, but I rather like “settled”.
These are some great thoughts! Thanks for sharing! And happy birthday!
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday, John. Remember to take Prince’s advice (“Act your age, not your shoe size”) with the appropriate exceptions.
Happy happy, John. You young rascal, you.
Hell, at 50 sometimes I still wonder if I’m the adult in the room. And then there are other times I’m painfully aware of it. I think Mark Twain said it best, “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” Go out and kick some kids off your lawn.
Happy Birthday John, and many many more. I see you as a mench, and I am grateful for you.
Happy Birthday. Old. Man.
Only 48 years away from being able to trade that body of yours in on a shiny new green one!
Happy birthday!
The older I get, the faster the time seems to go. (Argh.) Anyway, Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday! The main times I feel “old” (I’m a few months older than you) is when I get up off the couch and make noises my grandfather did when HE got off the couch.
Until one becomes 70 or so, I think “old” is “at least ten years older than I am now”. But even then, “old” doesn’t have to mean “stodgy”. My first marathon I got passed by a guy who was 60. I was half his age.
47? Ah, one of the PRIME YEARS OF YOUR LIFE!
We all have, if we’re lucky, take care of our health, and look both ways before crossing the street, roughly a max of 3 billion seconds in our lives (95 years). Our life is in thirds of a gigasecond long. First one is predominantly learning, the second is using that knowledge, and and last benefiting from that. (All gross simplifications of course, but has some truth.)
Congrats on being halfway through your second gigasecond (more or less). May you and Krissy reach your full 3 GSec!
“… this is a thing they don’t tell you very often when you’re younger and you probably wouldn’t believe it even if they did — you don’t really ever feel different no matter what your age.”
Yup. The only substantial difference between me of twenty years ago and me now is an accumulation of experience which has turned the response to emergencies from “oh god oh god what do we do oh god….” to “Well, time to get the paper towels and the rubbing alcohol.” I don’t mind paying a price in slightly stiffer knees for being less susceptible to panic.
Happy birthday, and many more to follow!
Happiness all around and thanx for the essay about where you are, “right now.” It seems a fair few responders are in their sixties like me (decade+ ahead of you). With me things slip. It’s like that joke about walking into a room and not remembering why you went there. A bit sad and with aches and pains, but things also get new (hey, what room is this??), and happiness is just that; which I suppose goes with the idea of time going faster. It’s a painful gainful thing.
Freakin’ knees, man. Always the first to go.
Happy birthday!
Yeah, knees . . .
Anyway,
Happy birthday, John!
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday! (Also, because 47: Chirp!)
Happy birthday! Stretch. Stretch a lot. (Sayeth the 50-yr-old office worker who can still do the splits and who has zero back pain, knee pain, or digestive issues.)
Happy Scalzimas on this mildest of unholy days.
May your day rain churros and mutated burritos!
Joyful birthday greetings to you, Mr. Scalzi, and I hope you experience many, many more in the decades ahead!
I think the hardest thing for me to come to terms with as I’ve aged has been the realization that in my family, I am now part of the eldest generation alive. When I think about all that I looked to my elders for as a younger person, it feels as though an awfully heavy burden has been transferred to my shoulders, and I’m just not sure I’m really prepared to carry it. I see the younger generations (and I’m old enough that there are three generations younger than I) seek me out for insights and suggestions and guidance, and even as I try to respond helpfully, there is a voice in my head whispering that I’m not yet enough of a grown-up to be qualified to comment.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts here, sir, and thanks also for all the enjoyment you’ve given us in your books and other creative efforts. You make the world a better place for a great many of us, and I don’t think anyone can ever aspire to a greater goal. Enjoy your birthday cake in good health!
Happy Birthday and best wishes for many more!
Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on this age thing. I can agree with everything you say and have 20 years on you. I was probably about your age when I came to similar conclusions.
Happy Birthday! All sugar doesn’t count today.
From the rest of us in our mid 40’s – Well said and happy birthday.
Remember, you’re only young once but you can be immature forever.
Joyeux Anniversaire de Naissance Monsieur Scalzi!
Splendors, joys, loveand happiness.
And lots and lots of words and ideas for many many new stories !
(This is a very selfish wish, coming to you from Montréal)
I’m a big believer in the “keep on living, until you die” philosophy. Of course, that’s easy for me to say, because I’m in my 20s. People tell me sometimes that I have my whole life ahead of me, which is not technically true, as I have over a quarter century of it behind me, but I know what they mean. If you’re doing it right, life should continue to get richer and fuller, whether you’re 26 or 66. Here’s to decades more of sci-fi writing and family time!
What a great reflection on what we now call “adulting.” Enjoy your birthday with your beautiful wife and those cute little Scamperbeasts, and thank you for the gift of your writing.
Happy birthday! Thanks for all the words.
My grandmother, at her 90th birthday d’hoopla, answering the inevitable question of how it feels to be 90, “Well I don’t know. I haven’t been 90 for very long.”
Happy birthday, Mr. Scalzi!
I will be 60 in June, but somewhat sadly, I’ve sort of felt like it for years having beaten myself up pretty good with way too much dangerous adventure and physical stupidity in the first half of my life. However, I am ambulatory and delighted to still be around, pains and all.
One thing that I’ve noticed as the years peeled away that made me feel possibly more of an adult (physical stupidity notwithstanding) than many of my friends, coworkers and associates is that their relationships with their spouses did not survive. My wife and I will celebrate the 40th anniversary of our first date on the 4th of July (yep, the first one was on our nation’s bicentennial!) this year and our 33rd wedding anniversary in October. (Please do not do the math around my mother!)
I think it takes a pair of adults – or at least one when really needed – to remain together for a lifetime, and perhaps those 7 years of (sinful according to my mother) cohabitation were the test grounds for the next 33. They weren’t all perfectly smooth and shiny, but during the few rough times, we were fortunate that at least one of us was willing to step up and be the adult. When neither spouse can be the adult, a marriage probably won’t last.
Again, happy birthday, and congratulations on being a fine, happily married adult! :-)
Happy Birthday, Mr. Scalzi!
As my present to you, I get to finally answer that Twitter question you asked a couple months ago that I read a few days late to answer:
“@Scalzi: Why do you follow me?”
Answer: Churros and buttercream, of course.
Happy birthday! May the next 47 years treat you well. :)
Happy birthday!
For me, the most sobering and yet liberating part of realizing that I am the adult in the room has been the realization that if the life I’m leading isn’t making me happy, it is entirely up to me to fix that. That’s the liberating side of that realization. It has helped me find the courage to make changes. The sobering side is that since I’m the adult in the room, I can’t just say “f*** it” and go backpack around the world or what not. If I want to go backpack around the world, I’m going to have to figure out how to do that without screwing up my other obligations. Luckily, I did some “f*** it” traveling before I became so unambiguously the adult in the room, so that particular example doesn’t pain me too much.
Happy birthday, John! May your new natal year bring you plenty of inspiration for you writing, the continued love of your adorable wife and daughter, good health, lots of fun, and every other good thing.
I’m in good company, I see, in turning 60 this year (in August). I don’t feel any different, even though my knees protest mightily, especially when my chorus is preparing for a concert and I’ve spent an evening on the risers. (Ouch!)
Happy Birthday, John. At age 15 I asked my Dad “what was the best time of life?” He said, “today. Yesterday gone, tomorrow yet to come, all you have is today. Today is always the best time of life” May you enjoy many, many more “todays” birthdays included along the way.
Happy birthday, John!
At 63, I sometimes wonder how I got to be adult I am, and the only answer I can find is what Indiana Jones said: “I don’t know. I’m making this up as I go.”
Happy Birthday, John! Observing what you and others in your general age bracket are doing makes me hope I am a late bloomer. And yes, the knees.
Happy birthday, sweetness!
I turned 49 Saturday, and it was one of the best birthdays I had as an adult. I don’t feel old, I don’t look my age, and even though I’m not where I thought I’d be. I’m doing cool things in my life. I don’t ache, and I’m exercising more than when i was in my thirties. And I certainly don’t feel like an adult. I don’t feel settled either. I am luckier than a lot of people I know. No bad marriages, no kids I can’t afford to raise, I own half a house. I’m poor, but whatever. A lot of my friends ache and can’t do stuff with me, so I do it myself. I feel reborn. Glad things are going well for you.
Many happy returns of the day, John. You do things a lot faster than I. I was 50 before I started to feel I was getting the hang of being an adult, rather than just doing an acceptable impression.
“no one else is coming to do the things you need to do. You might as well get on with it. ”
This part really got me. I’m glad to hear I’m not alone in feeling scared about adulthood sometimes (I am 31) and needing to squash that itch to “go get someone else” to fix the problem. No one is coming. So get on with it.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and happy birthday.
I know I’m old ( I turn 76 on Sunday), and my body keeps telling me so (numb feet, wobbly legs, arthritic wrists, rooster neck, failing ears) but my brain still refuses to accept it.
Happy birthday, kiddo.
Happy Birthday! I unfortunately seem to have lost all my adulting skills.
Happy 47th, John. It can be a very good age for perspective. I think you have it. The annoying part, is that even if you do, the younger set still won’t believe you!
Happy Birthday and many more happy healthy ones (which is what one of my grandmas always used to write on my card.) Upper left picture in the grid is a good one — you have a nice smile.
Punk kid!!! Wait until you hit 66 like me. Then you do feel OLD. Your knees go to hell, your hair starts thinning (although you seem to have a head start on that), and there are lots of aches, pains, and little pills. However, there are compensations. My Golden Buckeye card gets me a 5% discount on groceries. I get into various entertainments at reduced prices. And here in Ohio, when you are 60 or older you can audit classes at Ohio State University and its branches for FREE. You don’t get credit towards a degree, but at my age I don’t need another stinkin’ degree. I’ll be starting to take History classes this fall at OSU Lima. I now have the time to do it.
You child :) I’m ten years older than you are, and you know what’s creepy about that? I’m older than the current sitting president of the U.S. That is so wrong on so many levels I cannot begin to enumerate them all.
That said, happy birthday!
“this is a thing they don’t tell you very often when you’re younger and you probably wouldn’t believe it even if they did — you don’t really ever feel different no matter what your age. You just go through life and then one day you’re 47 or something.” So true! From a 65 year old! I tell my younger friends that this is a perspective one only seems to acquire at a certain age. Happiest of birthdays…and thank you for your fiction and your non-fiction. Your perspective is insightful and your creativity is awesome!
A very happy birthday!
And yep.
Happy birthday! And I think you do adulting extremely well, whether you’re wearing icing, Hawaiian shirts, or a charming mint green gown. In other words: what you said. Go for it with confidence!
Happy birthday, John! When I was young, I used to think (each year) that I was having the Best. Year. Ever. Now that I am an adult, the years go by in a blur but I am still having lots of fun. Thanks for adding to life’s pleasures by giving us so many fine stories.
Happy birthday ya old fart!
Congratulations on the day. The world is a better place for having you in it!
Thanks for this. And happy birthday. Today is my 65th birthday. My mother died at age 94,and she also said she didn’t ever feel as old as she was as time went on. It was odd, she said, to look in the mirror as she got older, and realize what her age was. And I feel the same way. I know people who “tell themselves the old story.” They go on about how old they are. And they are, because that’s their story. They’re in poor health, for instance. But that’s because they don’t exercise or eat real food, not because they are old. Feh. Not going there.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!
“…I just feel like me.” Well said; I often think the same thing. I am wishing you a beautiful day and hope you have many more Happy You Days. (I also wish you live longer than I do so I can continue to read your works :-D).
To Fred @ 1:39 AM – Good for you! My Mom went back to school and received her college diploma 9 minutes before my baby brother at the same university (he timed it). My Dad and I cheered loudly.
Happy Birthday! I’ll be 66 soon, and I was recently thinking about how I feel about myself hasn’t really changed as I’ve aged. I still just feel like “me”, even though I can’t do all the things I used to do without thinking about them, like sitting in the half lotus position comfortably, or jumping down off a porch, or running because it makes my foot hurt. But that’s physical stuff. Sure, I haven’t made it this long without learning a lot of lessons from life and changing the way I deal with it and the people in it, but I’ve learned to be comfortable in my own skin and that’s priceless.
Happy Birthday, John! All I can say is to repeat what my wife says the best part about being an adult: one can eat ice cream whenever one feels like it.
Happy Birthday! Hope it was a good one!
You’re right about feeling old. I feel mostly the same. I know more about some stuff. And my feet hurt more. But otherwise, yeah.
My stove broke WAAAAHHH I DONT WANNA SOMEBODY FIX IT FOR ME. (There are days when having to adult seriously sucks.)
And you know what makes me feel old? Having to decide whether it’s worth starting a project based on whether or not I’ll live long enough to finish it.
Happy Birthday, Mr. Scalzi. Enjoy it while it lasts….
(Why, yes, I am feeling grumpy today. Why do you ask?)
Happy Birthday!
I’m only 38, so not old, but sometimes… Like the fact that one of my best friends is younger than my Nintendo. (Which still works, that company makes stuff to LAST.) Or when at my last job, we had a guy in for interview and he told us that if we hired him, he was going to need time off to go to PROM. That made me feel old.
Age-related trivia: At age 47, 36% of the population is older than you, and 63% is younger.
http://flowingdata.com/2016/05/10/who-is-older-and-younger-than-you/
Happy birthday, John.
One age-related quirk that you’re years and years past (thankfully, as we all know)… Dating in one’s late 40s is weird in a lot of ways, but not least this one: a lot of the time, when I first see an attractive age-appropriate woman (who might actually be up to a decade younger than I am), it’s a tossup whether my adult superego sees “a potential friend and partner” or my inner teenager still sees “one of my mother’s hot friends”…
And regarding athletes, it’s not too late… Japanese soccer legend Kazu Miura signed a contract to play the next J-League season – still in the top level at age 49, even if not full-time anymore.
Happy Birthday! Terry Pratchett once wrote “Inside every old person is a young person wondering what happened.” Not that you’re old – you haven’t even hit middle age yet.
Let us know when you do. Your crisis should be entertaining…..