Time

There comes a time in every life when the things your parents used to tell actually start to make sense. Then you know that you're getting old.

I remember sitting at my father's kitchen table in Florida when he was then in his seventies. He said something quite simple, but for some reason, it struck me profoundly. He said, "I don't know, I really don't feel old". And now, I totally understand what he meant. Age is relative. "You're as young as you feel", they say. But the truth is, as we age and our bodies begin to betray us, somehow we never feel our age in our mind. We become wiser and wonder where all the time went. It seems as if it was yesterday when we were only kids ourselves. We blink our eyes and 20 years go by. And then 20 more. And so on.

In recent years, it has been in vogue to be in your 40's. But then 49 arrives and you start to dread that number that comes after that. Technically, the difference between 49 and 50 is merely a second in time. But when you get to that point, 49 and 50 seem light years apart.
Fifty is a half century. It's at the very most, half your life. Fifty is an age when many of your goals in life have been achieved. Fifty is when you are eligible to join AARP. That's exciting. So, where do you go from there? It's like being stuck between a rock and a hard place. You just don't fit in anywhere. You're too old to hang out with the young people, and too young to hang out with the old people. Fifty. It sounds so much older than 49. As my father said before me, "I don't know. I really don't feel old". Now, I completely understand.