On Turning 40

Well, the first thing I noticed about turning 40 is that the sleep is apparently a lot better. I slept 11 hours last night. That continues throughout the decade, right? (I drove through the night from Rapid City the night before, so I guess I was a little tired). Because of the sleep – unless it’s old age — my mental faculties seem a little cloudy; so I don’t foresee anything profound coming out of this post. But, it seemed worth marking the occasion for when I browse this blog in my dotage.

It was a pretty good decade, personally, all things considered; even if it was a pretty horrible decade for the country. I turned 30 in August 2001. Five weeks later, al Qaeda would attack, the country would go ape shit in response, and the economy would tank and never fully recover. Right in that general time period were the primary seeds for current struggles – war, insufficient tax revenues, and unrealistic budgeting to account for either of those things. As I look right now, the Dow Jones has fallen over 1,000 points in the past week (something like 10%), and I can trace the current financial turbulence a decade back.

But this is about me! In my personal life, things have gone rather well. First and foremost, I became a Dad. My son was born in 2003 and my daughter was born in 2005. I became the owner of a small business, becoming partner in the law firm in 2002. My one year old marriage turned into an eleven year old marriage. Physically, aside from a good deal less hair, I think I’m in better shape now than I was at thirty. In 2003, I was able to backpack in Yosemite, and that was about the extent of my stamina. In 2007, I was able to climb a 14,000 foot mountain. And, in 2008, 2009, and 2010, I was able to run half-marathons.

I know some folks get a pretty keen sense of their own mortality around 40. Maybe that will come later, but I’m not feeling a sense of lost youth or, particularly, doubt about my life choices. I suppose some days I’d rather be doing something else for a job; but “choose something you love passionately!” recommendations aside, I get the sense that, for most people, work comes with good days and bad. Certainly, I’m delighted with my family and my choice of communities. About the greatest wisdom I suppose I can offer (and will attempt to practice more than I do) is to live in today as much as you can without sacrificing too many prospects for tomorrow. Tomorrow isn’t promised and comes with so many worrisome possibilities that you’ll destroy yourself if you try to worry about them all. And, the past is fun to remember, but it’s gone and likely wasn’t anywhere near as cool as your memory suggests.

That said, I’m off to enjoy today!