by Ed Markow

Created on: April 08, 2008   Last Updated: April 09, 2008

Is there life after 40, 50, 60 and beyond? Absolutely, as long as you want there to be.

I believe your life is meant to be reinvented over and over again. I came to this belief as I watched my father work his entire adult life, retire at 65 and then, for seemingly no reason, quit living. He slipped very quickly into a day to day existence of waking up, having breakfast, sitting outside for a few hours, and then, retiring to the sofa in front of the television set until supper, back to that same place for the last few hours of the evening, and then to bed. This was repeated day after day after day, the day of the week didn't matter. Nothing did. After a few years, he crawled deeper and deeper into his own world, until he was finally diagnosed with dementia.

My VERY non-medical theory of the cause of that illness is finding oneself with no new goals, no new plans, and no desire to establish either. I also determined that I refuse to fall into that trap.

Today I am 61 years old, every day is a new experience with something new to learn and live. At 56 I wrote poetry for the first time since the 3rd grade. The poetry I wrote in the first few months was incorporated into an anthology of poetry along with the works of 10 other poets and was published. One year later, my own book was published and I was an author! I am also a Harley rider, although that is something I have been for almost 40 years, I now take longer trips and my winters are spent planning those long weekend trips and vacations. I work as the Operations Manager for a small telecommunications firm. I manage all aspects of the installation and maintenance of communications systems for our business clients. This year we entered the marketplace of Computer Based Telecommunications Systems, and I found myself immersed in the world of developing a Linux based system for our smaller sized clients. No, I am not, nor have I ever been a computer programmer. This was and is my latest challenge. It is frustrating, difficult and, at times, depressing from the perspective of not knowing if I can learn fast enough to meet the needs of company and client. But, I will. Why? Because every day, I want a new challenge. Every day I want to push myself a little more. Every day I want to experience more. And every day I will live a little more.

Yes, there is life after 40, 50 and 60 and beyond, but you have to reach out and grab it. No one will bring it to you.

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