A look at age 39 on the Journey of Life

Life is a Journey; that I have said on many occasions.  In a recent follow-up continuation of the theme I dealt with the early part of the journey and the changes that come about with full adulthood at the golden age of 40.

 Someone remarked on my choice of 40 and a long discussion followed that opened my eyes to something I had hitherto not given enough thought.  What you are now reading is dedicated to this remarkable person.

 Think about this; take your time over it.  I discover more in it every time I think about it.

 Life at 39 plus one day and all of the following 364 days should be a time of rest, reflection and laying the foundation for the next phase of the Journey.  A woman of 40 is much more beautiful than any film star of 23; a man at 40 is at his peak; there is no such thing, or there should not be, as the wrong side of 40.  What counts more than anything else is the transition from youth to full adulthood at 40?

 At 40 species homo sapiens should be able to look at two young siblings [three or four in our golden age] on the one side and two contented pairs of parents turned into grandparents by that time, to love and learn from both young and old and be wise enough to understand how blessed it is to be alive.  Being 39 is the best time to take a rest before gently gliding in on the right side of 40.

 An entire new Life starts at 40 and it is wise to use all the days of 39 to reflect on what is behind [hopefully a good decent youth] and what waits in the future.  In the most ideal circumstances the 39 year old will have 365 glorious days to reflect and plan; a smooth transition at the end is what you most need.

 This ends the part contributed by the wise person mentioned above.

 At this point I almost said; “But, alas …” before I checked myself and dropped the idea; today is a day for beauty, with no ‘buts’ or negatives.

 One, yes only one point remains and though I had planned to insert it earlier above I decided to keep the best for last.

 Before you reach 39, pre-arrange something with your wife [you also do it when she gets to the same 39^th plus one day] by ensuring that your children’s grandparents on both your side and her side spend the day with you when you hit 39.

 Get them over; do whatever you have to do if they live far away; just get them there.

 Thank them; love them; let them play with your children; tell the children the day belongs to the wise old folks.  If you are in the fortunate position to arrange this, thank your God and Creator for them on that day.  Make it their day and tell them that it is your wish for them to be present again same time and place in one year from then to see you gliding past the 40 marker.

 I wish you all out there a happy 39^th birthday!