I’m a looking forward kinda guy.  I don’t get caught up with things that have already happened or those that are out of my control.  I get excited thinking about the possibilities and try to embrace the unknown…

An every day example… how about birthdays?  You celebrate the milestone and embrace the unknown future.

Yesterday (last night at 11:17pm Atlantic time to be precise), I turned 40 (or as my grandfather would have said, I “entered my 41st year”).  For many, this milestone represents a major turning point – it can often trigger the beginning of’ mid-life, soon to be followed by ‘crisis.’  Although I must say that most of my contemporaries handle 40 with a good sense of realism, some are truly traumatized by it.  To be clear, I am not.

Does it feel a little weird?  Indeed.  But not because of the age itself… I’m really not (nor have I ever been) worried, scared or concerned about getting older.  No, it’s because of my memory of when my father turned 40.  I remember it well because I was almost 17.  [interesting background… when my aunt turned 40 – the year before my dad (her brother-in-law), she gave my dad a t-shirt that said “I’ll be old in ’86.  40.”  It was a great gift and is what, for me and my brothers, became the lasting image of our dad at 40… actually 39. ]

It’s hard to believe that’s me now… actually a year ago.  When I think of when he turned 40, it’s not that he seemed old… it’s just that he seemed, I don’t know, older than I seem today.  I mean, come on, he was a father of three kids.  So am I.  But I still feel, in some ways, like I’m a young man.  Dad seemed way more responsible and mature than I am now.  He had to have been – he had 17-, 15-, and 13-year old boys.  My kids are 10, 8, and 5.

Knowing dad, he’d tell me he wasn’t any more mature or responsible (or father-like) than I am today.  Perspective is everything, right?  He’s my dad… he’ll always be the one with sage advice, wisdom and a great sense of humour.  That’s just the way it is.

I have my own children now who (just maybe) look at me the same way.  And you know what?  They don’t think I’m old.  Yesterday, I was told in no uncertain terms, by my 8-year old son, that I won’t be old for another 30 years.  Apparently, the age of 70 marks the point at which someone becomes a “geezer,” according to them anyway.  That’s good enough for me.

As I move ever closer to the top of the proverbial hill, it’s refreshing to know that I’m still 30 years from reaching the summit.  I guess to a child, their dad never seems too old (except maybe when they’re in their teens and battling about YOUR rules and THEIR independence)…

Whether it’s me remembering my parents at 40 or my kids looking at my wife and I today… 40 just isn’t old (I am resisting the many cliches I could use here… you’re welcome!).  And I’m looking forward to the next chapter.  i don’t know what it will bring but I do know it won’t be defined by my age… it’ll be defined by what I choose to do, why I choose to do it, whom I do it with and how I do it.  The last 40 have been great — the next 40 will be even better.