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Odd Age

Nice post about the oddness of being fifty-one, neither here nor there. A time for taking stock, being at peak or the opposite of all that - planning to fade away into the sunset. Perspectives vary on who you talk to and where they find themselves on the scale. 

Instead of talking with peers, I can compare the quinquagenarian reality against cultural expectations. So far some things about heading past 50 are not far removed from what I’ve been led to expect.  Others veer from the norm.

This reminded me of a few folks I have talked to recently about changes that they have experienced on the other side of fifty. Women talk about coming to realize they have become invisible. While in reality they may been been invisible well before that, the fact of getting to that age bracket brings a sharp awareness of that. Men talk more about clarity on what really matters - goals not worth chasing, the importance of family that they may have neglected some in earlier decades, wanting to spend more time with their wives and so on. 

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