Mid Life Crisis?

OK, what exactly IS a "mid life crisis"? I'm now 55 years old and since I seriously doubt I will live to be 110 years old, did I miss it while I was taking a nap one day?

A friend of mine is selling his Corvette and I have to admit it sparked an interest in me. Unfortunately it is WAY more then I can spend on what is nothing more then an indulgence in my younger high performance automobile days. Plus it is impractical as all hell. I can remember my hotrod days when the Chevy Corvette was about the epitome of what all us kids dreamed about having, while making do with the hand-me-down cars that we could really afford. What the heck do I want with a car that in order to bring home a bag of groceries I would have to leave the passenger at the grocery store?

Is that a sign that I might actually live to be 110 years old and this is the onset of the "mid life crisis"? Or is it just that I am getting older and I really can't recognize the really dumb stuff that goes through my mind at times?

Or maybe I am just getting older, and know it, and my subconscious is telling me to do the things I've always wanted to do before it is just too darn late to do so..........

Originally Posted by WebSlave

OK, what exactly IS a "mid life crisis"? I'm now 55 years old and since I seriously doubt I will live to be 110 years old, did I miss it while I was taking a nap one day?

.........

Nah, I think its just something Hollywood and the media has created to explain why someone in their 50s might get divorced or buy that corvette. If it is a 'crisis', I'm watching out for mine. I will admit I look longingly at the newest Harley idling next to me in traffic. That is until I research each time how much the damn things are and how dangerous they can be. (especially when drivers in Phoenix never look for motocycles) Besides, I'd like to have grandkids someday so I can hand him/her back to my kid after a visit.
Could be few out there that are realizing their mortality and want the toys we couldn't afford in our twenties. That BMW z3 or 4 or 5 whatever looks pretty good too. Guess I'll limit my impulses to tarantulas and boas.
John

I can remember my hotrod days when the Chevy Corvette was about the epitome of what all us kids dreamed about having

I used to think the same thing...so I bought one.. Sold it a month later. Boy are they uncomfortable!! Very over rated car. (Hope this helps!!)
could be worse, you could be about to hit your sexual prime like me (40 for women or so they say) and not a man in sight.

Michele Misurelli

[quote=WebSlave]OK, what exactly IS a "mid life crisis"?

QUOTE]


I think it means different things to different people; the age of 50 is for many modern people a time to stop and take stock of their lives, and to choose new directions.

For those who have children, this is a time when the children leave home and parents have more free time than they have had in decades. For women it is a time of menopause, bringing those changes and freedoms as well.

I am approximately the same age as you, and instead of a Corvette I went back to school, that was my big change.

There are some directions people take at this time which are not appropriate, but buying an item like a Corvette, or going to school, or changing careers, those are all ways to improve your life in a way that matters to you.

You only pass through life once. Although all of us have to make choices and give up some of what we want to do for legal, religious, or practical reasons; but excluding those reasons if you have the chance to do something you really want, that matters to you, I say go for it.

There is nothing quite as sad as an old person who thinks back with longing at what 'might have been', when with determination and effort they could have reached their goal and had a happier life.

You may find after a time that the goal you chose was not what you thought, but it is far better to achieve and make that judgment then to always wonder what might have been.

I think it is just a label given to another change people make in their lives....not that we NEED labels.

You do one thing for so long and it gets old. Time to make a change. When you are 10 years old and no longer want what you had when you were 8 they call it growing up. When you are 15 and you have a complete character change they call it hormones (or drugs), when you are 25 they call it maturing, when you're 35 they call it reliving your youth, and when you're 40+ they call it a midlife crisis.

People change. Not the basic personality, but wants, needs, beliefs, points of view...that changes. If someone wants to label it, let them. It means nothing. We are who we are.

(Then when we get to be 70+ we can judge everyone else who is going through what we have already been through because we are going to kick it soon anyway! What do you call that attitude? Pre-postlife crisis? LOL)

this bit of info.

When I was 16 I raced my old beat up car, stayed up all night flirting with guys, talking, listening to music, watching TV, hanging out, whatever tripped my trigger.

When I was 26 I worked, took care of my family, raced my convertible, stayed up all night flirting with guys, talking, listening to music, watching TV, hanging out, whatever tripped my trigger.

When I was 36 I took care of my family, worked, took care of my pets, raced my pick-up truck, stayed up all night flirting with guys, talking, listening to music, watching TV, hanging out, whatever tripped my trigger.

Now I am almost 40. I take care of my family, work, take care of my (ever-changing collection of) reptiles, run around the countryside, race my Mustang, stay up all night flirting with guys, talking, listening to music, watching TV/movies, hanging out, whatever trips my trigger.

I have far more responsibility than I used to, more pressure. I think if I want to cut loose and do STUPID things I should be applauded for not getting killed, not lectured for being an idiot. I am basically the same person I have always been and work very hard to get what I want, to keep what I have, and to raise my family. If someone wants to tell me it's just a phase and I'll get over it they can take a flying leap at the moon....and miss.

Yeah, I don't know what to think about it. It's more complicated then it probably seems at casual glance. This friend of mine with the vette had his wife die from cancer last Christmas. Connie and I were there when the ambulance took her to the hospital, as she was pretty much out of it completely. After she died, my friend kind of lost it as well, and from what I understand bought this vette when he took his wife's car to a dealer to sell it so he wouldn't have to look at it every day to remind him of her. A fast talking salesman nabbed him and he drove home the vette. He has had knee surgery recently and been out of work for months. He sold some property, which has helped tide him over, but I think the well is running dry on him. I certainly don't have that kind of money to spend, so I can't figure out why I am even contemplating such a thing. I guess I could if I HAD to, but this certainly isn't a HAD TO situation at all.

So am I just trying to justify this to help out a friend, or is it the mid life crisis thing talking? I had no real interest in getting one until this all came up. So what has that seed sprouted into? I have learned that my mind can make some surprising turns sometimes.

Shelly,
It is a good thing that you and I do not live in the same state... girlfriend you and I could so some serious damage hanging out together!!

WebSlave,

I am sorry to hear about your loss. That is the sort of thing that can send your mind wondering and evaluating your own life which can send you ito a crisis. Especially a spouse, I lost my husband due to a divorce 5 years ago and I am still not over it. A loss is a loss and obviously this one had a huge effect on you. People (myself included) have a way of trying to heal or make themselves feel better by treating themselves to whatever...cars, clothes, jewelry, etc.
It doesn't always do the trick, in fact most of the time you feel worse because you spent the money!
But sometimes you just have to say "What the Hell!" Maybe this is some kind of omen telling you that you should buy the car?? Vettes hold their value so you could always turn around and sell it if you decided it wasn't for you.

Are you married? what does the wife/girlfriend think??

I think in many people's lives, there comes a day when there is realization that many things they've wanted to experience have been put off to "some day", and that day may not come. I know that for me, once I had my kids semi-raised (meaning, they're out of the house, but still young enough to truly get into trouble), I realized that for 25 years I'd put things off in order to concentrate on raising my children. I made a list and started checking things off of it. Not so much things I wanted to have as things I wanted to do: take a gourmet cooking class, travel a bit more, plant a big garden, etc. etc. It wasn't nearly monumental enough to be identified as a "crisis", so maybe I had a "mid-life opportunity".

I think that perhaps when you reach the age where it seems more and more people you know are dying around you, it finally sinks in that YOUR number is in that hat as well somewhere. And there is no telling when it will get picked. Maybe it is the realization of the sands running out of the glass that you begin to take stock in what is left undone that you now know you have very limited time to accomplish. You are not immortal. You will die. What do you WANT to do before that happens? What things that are optional in your life are you willing to give up in order to do that?