How to Not Let Middle Age Break You
A manifesto for the newly middle-aged
I used to wonder when middle age began, but now I know that if you live long enough, it’s a point you reach at an indeterminate date, between 40 and 50. When it does arrive, you stop asking when you’ll be middle-aged.
You just know that you are.
The TV is too loud, the song lyrics all sound profane, and you don’t see why you shouldn’t go to bed if you’re tired, even if it’s 8:52 pm on a Friday.
You see all the things wrong in the world and feel the alternating weight of depression and outrage that more progress (or any!) can’t be made. It’s no longer possible to take comfort in your potential (or in that of your generation) to make meaningful change.
If that were going to happen, wouldn’t it have already?
Your body is sending you little signs of wear and tear. Sure, there are wrinkles you can no longer trick yourself into believing are due to dehydration or lack of sleep, but there are also inexplicably sore feet when you wake up. The occasional numb arm and fingers from a pinched nerve that you’ve started to believe will always be pinched. The inescapable fact is that you need reading glasses approximately every 1.6 minutes.
