i’m about two years into my forties…

and, when i stop and think about this time of my life…

i wonder–what can i tell my kids about crossing this threshold? what advice can i give them? how can i warn them? (heh, heh)

i guess i would tell them…

40 (41, 42, etc…) is different…it hits you in different ways…physically and mentally…forty feels different…

as an example…the other day, i played a rough and rowdy game of floor hockey with my colleagues after work–it is a good stress reliever for all of us…better to take it out on each other than the kids we work with–the next day, i had to peel myself out of bed…all stiff and sore and creaking bones…there was a particularly sore spot…my knee-cap…where the auto instructor had hacked me pretty good…but, it was all in good fun…

anyways…there are some points in life when you feel your age…

at least with floor hockey, i feel as if i can still keep up and “get in the game” (despite the aches and pains)…this was not the case, when (a few years ago) i tried to re-enter the futbol world and play on a soccer team with some friends…i mean, when i signed-up for the league i was excited and enthusiastic about the season…then, i got on the field and tried to play…it was like i was stuck in the mud…i couldn’t believe how slow i was…moving to and from the ball, trying to dribble and make a move–it was laughable…it was like my legs were telling me, are you kidding–you want us to do what?! …you’ve heard of muscle memory…this was muscle amenesia…it was like i had never played…my legs had gone off the grid, pulled a ‘jason bourne’, you know…

when i signed up to play, i had in my mind…the image, the memory of the player i was, back then…back when i was younger…i thought i was still that guy…but, the hard reality hit me on the field (as i struggled through the games)…that it had all changed… and that the player i knew then, in my glory days, was gone…

it was a hard thing to face, to come to grips with…i’m still trying to face that truth, that reality…today…

but, there’s something else…

from a philosophical perspective, it hits you pretty hard as well–it knocks you down…you reflect, look back and ponder the days gone by…the good times, the bad times, the in-between times…all those moments and memories that you’ve come through…

and you think about what lies ahead…

your impending doom…

but seriously, when you hit ‘forty’…you think about your mortality, you think about the fact that some day you won’t be around anymore…you think about the time when you’ll meet your maker…

forty (and beyond) is different…

so, to my son and daughter–all i can say is…

live your life, enjoy it when you can, where you can…best you can…