Return trip - Is 40 the New 30?

On the plane home from L.A., so lots of time to ponder. Had business meetings last Thursday, and another meeting scheduled for this morning (now yesterday) with Jackie Warner (but unfortunately, she cancelled due to illness). But the real impetus for this trip was to celebrate my middle sister’s 40^th birthday: a girls’ weekend at a spa in Southern California - my mom, sisters and cousin – very relaxing, and very decadent.

We all stayed at my sister’s apartment last night and I noticed a birthday card she had displayed that said “40 is the new 30”. Is this because we live longer? Is our society so age obsessed that we need to deny reality? And, more importantly, does living longer give us the right not to take on responsibilities that our parents did at the same age?

Hmmm. I’m 42 and I don’t feel middle aged. However, a good friend who is a doctor announced to a bunch of us (all in our early 40s) that we were in fact middle-aged. He said that this is based on the reality that we have reached the mid-point of our lives. No matter, I am as young as I feel, and I refuse to feel middle-aged whatever that is.

So, I will continue to deny reality and pretend that the wrinkles around my eyes only appear when I squint or laugh, that the lines in my forehead are merely stripes as my five-year-old calls them, and that after too much sun (remember all of the baby oil?), two kids, lots of sports and athletics and the accompanying injuries and surgeries, that my body looks as good as ever and that I still feel great.  I figure there’s nothing wrong with a positive attitude! My grandfather learned to play tennis at age 70, since I already know how, maybe I’ll learn to sky dive?

As for people in their twenties taking on fewer responsibilities, it is dangerous to generalize, but I’m going to take that risk. Over the years I’ve hired a bunch of different people at Zoe Foods from right out of college through 50s. I have noticed a trend through my hires and the interviewing process. Although there are always exceptions (our summer intern is clearly one of them), many people just out of college are not prepared to “pay their dues” in the workplace and often do not have the same work ethic that my generation has. Perhaps they are justified, if we really have to live for 80+ years, why rush into taking on responsibilities if we don’t have to.

So, where do I net out on this topic? 40 is the new 30, and yet we don’t have to worry about our bodies aging right before our eyes because how we feel is more important than how we look. As for responsibilities, don’t expect someone to carry your bag for you while you’re served strawberries dipped in chocolate on a silver platter. Life is full of challenges and experiences, greet them head on, and turn your dreams into reality because no one is going to do it for you.