Day 14, I am not getting any older.

Last night, at a dinner party with friends, I was startled to discover one of the other party goers was 50 years old. The sensitive subject came up as she, who I would like to call Amy, was giving me pointers on on-line dating. Amy said her ex-boyfriend, who was also at the party, had essentially written her profile. Amy admitted to shaving off a few years on her age in her profile – who hasn’t? I expected this shave to be something like thirty-five to thirty not fifty to forty five.

Amy has a grown daughter, an interesting and rewarding job and from the sounds of it a healthy dating life. She looked amazing – both her attitude, style and general sense of self is where I hope I find myself when I am fifty. In fact, if it wasn’t creepy, I would like to formally invite her to be my mentor. I think I could use a dose of her unique perspective on life.

At another recent dinner party, an old friend shared with me he and his wife were contemplating starting a family. When I probed him about the specific motivation for this very important decision he said, “Well, I am not getting any younger.” Of course he is right and I totally understand this perspective. However, now after meeting fifty-year-old Amy, I couldn’t help but wonder if his sentiment might be faulty logic.

Admittedly, as we age, we become painfully aware of how fleeting life is. However, I think it might be a bit toxic to live life with a ticking clock on our shoulders. In meeting someone as bravely unconventional as Amy, I also think we ought not to judge others who have the courage to throw caution to the wind when it comes to these types of societal benchmarks.

What does this pray tell have to do with me being thirty-three and unemployed? Well, in these past few weeks the thought has crossed my mind that quitting my job in the wake of the failing economy was at the very least irresponsible (foolhardy, impetuous, ill-conceived, etc). Would I be so hard on myself if I was twenty-three? Or as I contemplate creating a new career, should I be bound by my Date of Birth? Do we have fewer options as we age?