God, I am so glad I view aging differently than most of you.
When I was a kid, about 16, I was hitchhiking across the country. One of my favorite rides was with an 82 year old woman. She was still healthy, active driving... and hillarious to talk to. Through the course of our marathon converstaion, I asked her what the best age of her life was. She said, "Something magic happens when you hit your 40s. In your 20s you don't have experience yet. In your 30s you are just starting to make sense of things, but in your 40s God has finally given you enough time to see the world clearly. You understand things better."
I grew up looking forward to getting older. I had a vision that the accumulated experience of my life would be something valuable.
Truthfully, it is.
Great attitude! But that 82 year old woman is not the norm. I've been to nursing homes to visit the ill. You will not like what you see there. Life is a game of chance often. My dad worked his ass off and had such a positive attitude that it got on my nerves. Now at the age of 65, he is a shell of the man he was, crippled with Parkinson's disease. Life is not fair. But you do have a great attitude and what you posted was true for a lot of people.
I was fortunate to hit the top of my respective career fields very young. The knowledge base I attained grew with each passing year. By the time I was 35 I retired for the first time. Now, at the not overly old age of 44 I have the ability to pick and choose which projects I would actually enjoy developing. I could not do at 20 what I can do today. I wouldn't have known how... and you can't get this knowledge base easily or fast.
The world is filled with men and women who affect history. Diplomats, scientists, doctors, writers. If you look at the scope and breadth of great lives and great careers... they aren't held by children. They aren't held by people in their 20s... and rarely people in their 30s. Their is an intense and costly amount of wisdom and knowledge that needs to be accrued to truely take part in the great game... and that can only come if you spend years and years on this planet... interacting... learning... meeting people... working... reading... thinking... and learning more.
How do I feel about being 44? Very fortunate. I feel like I'm stepping through a new door every day.