Last week, I turned fifty-one or, to put it another way, I celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of my twenty-first birthday. Flashing back to turning twenty-one, it wasn’t that big of a deal but one thing my dad said to me that day still stands out. He told me that from here on out, the years would pass by faster and faster. And like a lot of things Dad said, that one turned out to be true, too.
I sometimes wonder why Dad’s theory is correct. One thing that occurred to me is prior to reaching that age, each year there are clear lines of demarcation. We go from one grade level to the next. In high school and again in college, we are freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. Once we move from school to the working world. those regular signposts are gone. Those of you that are parents may tell me that this process starts all over again when you have kids but I don’t have kids so that hasn’t been the case for me.
Another thing to consider is that the older you get, the smaller the percentage of your life that one year represents. Today, four years seems like the blink of an eye. That was hardly the case when we began high school and college.
When they realized it was my birthday, some of my friends said it seemed like only a couple months had gone by since I turned fifty. So it’s not just me experiencing this.
This also reminds me that I want to do more to make every day count.
What do you think, was my Dad right? Do they years seem to be going faster than they used to? Leave a comment below and let me know what you think.
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