On turning 39

Today is the first day of the last year in which I can be referred to as “a man in his late-thirties.”

365 days from today, I’ll hit the big four-oh.

Is the middle-age crisis showing up yet?

I’m not overly worried about that.

Maybe because I think I suffered it prematurely when I turned 30. I remember nine years ago I signed up for Karate lessons, I let my hair grow a bit longer than usual, changed jobs, bought a piano and tried to teach myself how to play it, quoted a sports car. So, no, I don’t think 40 will have a greater impact. Hopefully.

I have no big plans for my 39th year except for keeping my day job—which thankfully I love—but also spending time with the family and working on a new novel that I finally plotted (yes, I’m a plotter, not a pantser).

One of my favorite movies from the 80’s is “When Harry Met Sally,” and not only because of the restaurant scene where the Director’s mother uttered the AFI listed quote: "I'll have what she's having.”

No, the other scene that stuck in my mind, because it was even in the trailer, is between Sally and Harry. Here’s the exchange, courtesy of IMDB:

Sally: No, no, no, I drove him away. AND, I'm gonna be forty.
Harry: When?
Sally: Someday.
Harry: In eight years.

So, it’s not eight years for me anymore, just a few months above eight. J

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